Police seek BMW
New clue in double killing
A WHITE SUV fitted with “cloned” registration plates was parked at Martin Shiels Park for an hour on the night of the shooting deaths of two men, detectives have revealed.
The vehicle, a BMW X5, travelled north on the Pacific Motorway about 8pm on the night of the murders of Shane Ross and Cameron Martin, police said.
Footage of the vehicle pulling a U-turn and stopping in front of Martin Shiels Park was released earlier this week, during an emotional plea for information by the slain pair’s family.
Police yesterday released fresh footage in the hope the vehicle could be identified.
Detective Superintendent Brendan Smith said the vehicle’s number plate, with the registration 498YRF, was fake.
He said the footage did not show the people in the vehicle.
“We’re very keen for any member of the public to come forward that may have seen that vehicle on the M1 on that night,” he said during a fresh appeal yesterday.
“We also understand and the investigators have learnt that the vehicle was parked at Martin Shiels Park for about an hour prior to the murders occurring.
“Somebody out there knows something. This is a very vicious crime. We’ve got two people that have been murdered … and regardless of their complex backgrounds, nobody deserves that fate,” he said.
“We’re confident that this vehicle was seen on the M1, coming up from Northern New South Wales to Queensland and then it was at that location for about an hour prior to the murders,” he said.
Mr Ross was murdered execution-style in the park, while Mr Martin was shot while trying to flee on October 18 last year.
He crashed a white Mercedes Benz into a tree off Tallebudgera Creek Rd, 1km from where his friend was shot.
Before Mr Ross’ body was found in the park, police had treated Mr Martin’s death as a fatal car accident.
An autopsy on Mr Martin revealed he had died from a fatal gunshot to the chest.
Asked if the vehicle left prior to Mr Martin’s crash Sen-Sgt Smith said it was unclear.
“There’s certainly vision to show that it left in a hurry, whether that it linked to Cameron Martin leaving, or independently, we don’t know. The more witnesses that we get to come forward the clearer the picture will be and we can get some closure for the families.”
Asked whether the information this week had made the events of that night clearer, he said: “It would be wrong for me to go into the details. Obviously some of the things we want to keep to ourselves as we move forward.”