Trudy Dreyer’s family didn’t suspect anything was awry when they didn’t hear from her, assuming she was happily holidaying with her partner
The family of a woman killed by her boyfriend in a suspected murder-suicide thought she was on an ‘expensive trip’ while the couple laid in a pool of blood for days.
Trudy Dreyer, 49, was found dead alongside Tim Ogle, 48, at a property in Doyles Creek, near the Hunter Valley, on Thursday afternoon.
The couple’s travel agent raised the alarm after they failed to board their flight to South Africa three days ago.
Ms Dreyer’s family didn’t suspect anything was awry when they didn’t hear from her, assuming she was happily holidaying with her partner.
‘We thought she was on the trip of a lifetime but she was dead inside her house the whole time,’ a source, who chose to remain anonymous, told news.com.au.
‘Knowing that is one of the hardest parts.’
The source said her family is ‘distraught’ by her sudden death.
Police found Mr Ogle and Ms Dreyer – who both worked at Mount Arthur Coal Mine – with gunshot wounds and lying in pools of blood inside a homestead.
A discarded gun was found nearby.
Ms Dreyer’s cousin, Dan Pollard, said the mother-of-two was a ‘real romantic’ and had high hopes for her blossoming romance, believed to have started nine months ago.
‘We met Tim a few weeks ago, we didn’t think much of him,’ he told the Saturday Telegraph.
Trudy Dreyer (left) was found dead alongside her partner of nine months, Tim Ogle (right) on Thursday in a suspected murder suicide. Family of the mum-of-two have said they thought the man was a ‘deadbeat’ but were struggling to think he could be a murderer
‘We thought he was a deadbeat, we never imagined he could be a murderer.’
Ms Dreyer’s neighbour said the woman was ‘lovely’, and thrilled about her relationship.
‘She was excited about the relationship but last I heard it wasn’t going well, they argued a lot,’ he said.
Both Mr Ogle and Ms Dreyer have children under 18 from previous marriages, all of whom were staying with family at the time.
The homestead remained a crime scene on Friday, as detectives spent the day interviewing shocked family members, neighbours and colleagues.
The grisly scene was discovered after police were called to a property on Doyles Creek Road in the Hunter Valley on Thursday at 4pm in relation to a concern for welfare of the couple
The deaths of Mr Ogle and Ms Dreyer has rocked the small rural community of Doyles Creek
Police believe Mr Ogle shot Ms Dreyer before turning the gun on himself.
‘The person who alerted police said they had not heard from the couple for a few days,’ Cessnock Inspector Michael Gorman told The Daily Telegraph.
‘We do these types of calls quite regularly but you do not expect to find this outcome.’
Police said the couple both had children from previous relationships, who happened to be staying with their respective parents at the time.
Neighbours in the small rural community were rocked by the tragedy.
But many residents knew very little about the pair who lived at the address.
It is believed that Mr Ogle had suddenly become possessive and paranoid about his relationship with Ms Dreyer, the publication reported.
One neighbour, who did not wish to be named, told Daily Mail Australia on Friday Ms Dreyer was a mother-of-two who had lived in the area for about five years.
He said Mr Ogle had moved in about six months ago.
The couple may have been dead in their Doles Creek Road (pictured) homestead for several days after they failed to board the plane for the South America holiday they had booked
Another neighbour described the pair as ‘a bit strange’. He said the Ms Dreyer kept to herself a lot.
‘I haven’t heard much but I think she’s been missing for a few weeks or something.’
Hunter Valley Police continue their investigations and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
For confidential support call Lifeline: 13 11 14 www.lifeline.org.au or Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636.
Police are investigating the suspected murder-suicide of a NSW Hunter Valley couple