Bodies of Struan Thomas Bolas a former Black Uhlans motorcycle gang member, and the woman were found
The accused - also charged with arson - is alleged to have killed Struan Thomas Bolas, 48, and an unidentified woman before torching Mr Bolas's home in Raine Place.
The bodies of Bolas, a former motorcycle gang member, and the woman were found at the Downer residence at about 10.30pm by firefighters, who arrived to extinguish the inferno.Police called for calm yesterday as an alleged double murder in Downer added to the national capital's recent spate of suspicious deaths.
A 35-year-old man is due to appear in the ACT Magistrates Court this morning, charged with the murder of a man and woman after their bodies were discovered in a burning Downer house late on Wednesday evening.It is the fourth alleged murder in the national capital in two months.Early yesterday morning, police arrested a man, who was found in stationary car on Sutton Road between Canberra and Queanbeyan.
Police will allege that the man killed the pair before deliberately setting fire to the house.The head of the Territory Investigations Group, Detective Superintendent Michael Kilfoyle, said police were investigating whether there had been a ''wider reason'' for the killings.''There could be other motives which we are still to investigate, particularly in this instance,'' he said.But he called for calm in the community and assured residents that the city was a safe place to live despite the recent spate of killings.Sutton Road was closed to traffic until yesterday afternoon as police scoured the roadside for a weapon. A Queanbeyan house where the alleged offender was said to have been lodging was also sealed off and examined by Australian Federal Police forensics teams.''We are unsure of the relationship between the male and the female at this stage, that's obviously still part of our enquiries and for us to establish why this incident has happened,'' Superintendent Kilfoyle said.''There are a large number of inquiries that are under way. This investigation is only in its infancy and there are a lot of things that still need to be done.''Bolas was a long-time member of bikie gang the Black Uhlans. He is understood to have shed his affiliations with the club more than five years ago.
Bolas is believed to have retained links to Canberra's criminal underworld despite no longer being a pledged member of the notorious gang. Police arrested him in April 1996 and charged him with being involved in an amphetamine ring.
A long-time friend described Bolas as a ''wild boy''. He said, ''I grew up with Struan and this is a real shame.''He was a wild boy but he was also a good, stand-up bloke. He was a mate.''Most recently, Bolas had been working as a groundsman at Hotel Kurrajong, Barton.
Both his colleagues at the hotel and neighbours in Downer were unaware of the victim's bikie connections and criminal links. Neighbour Briony McGregor said Bolas had kept a low profile in the leafy neighbourhood.''He seemed like a really pleasant guy, a lovely guy,'' Ms McGregor said. She said she had never seen the female victim in the area before. A colleague at the Kurrajong said Bolas was a well-respected, clean-living employee, especially admired by younger members of staff.''We called him the professor because we'd have academics and people like that here for conferences and Straun would sit down with them and run rings around them,'' the hotel worker said.
The bodies of Bolas, a former motorcycle gang member, and the woman were found at the Downer residence at about 10.30pm by firefighters, who arrived to extinguish the inferno.Police called for calm yesterday as an alleged double murder in Downer added to the national capital's recent spate of suspicious deaths.
A 35-year-old man is due to appear in the ACT Magistrates Court this morning, charged with the murder of a man and woman after their bodies were discovered in a burning Downer house late on Wednesday evening.It is the fourth alleged murder in the national capital in two months.Early yesterday morning, police arrested a man, who was found in stationary car on Sutton Road between Canberra and Queanbeyan.
Police will allege that the man killed the pair before deliberately setting fire to the house.The head of the Territory Investigations Group, Detective Superintendent Michael Kilfoyle, said police were investigating whether there had been a ''wider reason'' for the killings.''There could be other motives which we are still to investigate, particularly in this instance,'' he said.But he called for calm in the community and assured residents that the city was a safe place to live despite the recent spate of killings.Sutton Road was closed to traffic until yesterday afternoon as police scoured the roadside for a weapon. A Queanbeyan house where the alleged offender was said to have been lodging was also sealed off and examined by Australian Federal Police forensics teams.''We are unsure of the relationship between the male and the female at this stage, that's obviously still part of our enquiries and for us to establish why this incident has happened,'' Superintendent Kilfoyle said.''There are a large number of inquiries that are under way. This investigation is only in its infancy and there are a lot of things that still need to be done.''Bolas was a long-time member of bikie gang the Black Uhlans. He is understood to have shed his affiliations with the club more than five years ago.
Bolas is believed to have retained links to Canberra's criminal underworld despite no longer being a pledged member of the notorious gang. Police arrested him in April 1996 and charged him with being involved in an amphetamine ring.
A long-time friend described Bolas as a ''wild boy''. He said, ''I grew up with Struan and this is a real shame.''He was a wild boy but he was also a good, stand-up bloke. He was a mate.''Most recently, Bolas had been working as a groundsman at Hotel Kurrajong, Barton.
Both his colleagues at the hotel and neighbours in Downer were unaware of the victim's bikie connections and criminal links. Neighbour Briony McGregor said Bolas had kept a low profile in the leafy neighbourhood.''He seemed like a really pleasant guy, a lovely guy,'' Ms McGregor said. She said she had never seen the female victim in the area before. A colleague at the Kurrajong said Bolas was a well-respected, clean-living employee, especially admired by younger members of staff.''We called him the professor because we'd have academics and people like that here for conferences and Straun would sit down with them and run rings around them,'' the hotel worker said.
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