Nyngan murder accused may have been 'jilted lover'

Police are investigating whether the deaths of three people on a farm in Nyngan were the result of a ‘crime of passion’.

The three bodies were found by a member of the public earlier this week on an isolated property at Hermidale, around 600km north-west of Sydney.

Accused killer, retired handyman Alan O’Connor, 61, handed himself in to police yesterday and was charged with two counts of murder over the deaths of Rebecca Webb, 36, and Jacob Cumberland, 28.

Both had died of gunshot wounds.

The body of Jacob’s father, 59-year-old Steven Cumberland, was found badly burnt and in a nearby caravan on the property.

Police believe some kind of explosion had occurred in the caravan.

Detectives are now investigating reports that the accused was a jilted lover who had been in a relationship with Ms Webb.

It is believed on the night of the alleged murder, Ms Webb had reportedly gone home from a local pub with the older man, Mr Cumberland.

Police confirmed she had previously been in a relationship with the accused, Mr O’Connor.

“I can't speculate on the motive but I can say that investigators believe the 61-year-old-man and the 36-year-old-woman were previously involved in a domestic relationship,” Acting Superintendent Andrew Hurst told the media this morning.

No charge has been made regarding the older Mr Cumberland as detectives are awaiting the results of a post-mortem to confirm his cause of death.

A family friend told 9NEWS it was a tragic set of circumstances.

“Very, very sad. Emotions could never explain how I’m feeling at the moment,” he said.