Anthony Ward, 40, is believed to have been repeatedly shot and his body burnt.

Charred fragments of his remains were found at a campsite about 60km north of Tamworth on June 22, 2009, after Queensland police linked him to a vicious double-murder carried out at Burleigh Waters the previous month.

But the chain of events leading up to Mr Ward’s murder sounds like a barely believable movie script.

Mr Ward moved to Warrnambool when the late Jim Leahy offered him an apprenticeship in his home appliance and electrical store.

During his spare time he was a Lifeline counsellor and St John Ambulance volunteer.

Mr Ward later became a nurse in his mid-20s before taking over as manager of the Mortlake Community Development Committee, a position he held for about 18 months.

He also worked for Tower Computer Aid in Manifold Street, Camperdown, before going into a partnership and starting his own business, Cortec Computers, with Tony Scroop.

A strange and ultimately tragic set of events followed.

Mr Scroop and Mr Ward parted company as partners after spending a substantial amount of money — the best part of $100,000 — refurbishing an older Camperdown shop as their showroom.

The store featured floating floors and high-end glass shelves and the business had a lot of computers and electronics on consignment.

But Mr Ward was in financial difficulties.

About the same time he had made his first contact with his biological mother in Queensland. Police have investigated claims she had a contact inside the Russian mafia, Vladimir “The Russian” Garcia.

It was alleged that through Garcia, Mr Ward was able to get a $200,000 loan, but couldn’t repay it. 

Police say that on June 15, 2008, the historic building housing Tower Computer Aid was torched.

Arson squad investigators pieced together a list of persons of interest and the red-hot suspect was a man living in Camperdown who was also the prime suspect in a major Melbourne fire.

The arson squad took over the case.

There was also a burglary at a Camperdown gun store, although the offenders were disturbed and no firearms were stolen.

In January 2009, Mr Ward’s housemate Chris Haig’s little brother David, then 17, approached a Camperdown sports shop to obtain guns.

David and Chris Haigh bought five secondhand 12-gauge shotguns and received a tax invoice for $900. David Haigh paid for the guns in cash.

He said they were for a third party, Cameron Stewart.

The next step was Queensland police major crime investigators contacting south-west police in the second half of 2009 to ask if they knew Anthony Ward.

Garcia, now 36, and Stewart, 39, were the No. 1 suspects in the murder of Queensland couple Alexander “Sandie” Davie, 60, and his wife Sue, 50. Garcia and Stewart have since been jailed for life and will spend at least 25 years behind bars.

The pair had previously worked in Queensland for a Burleigh Waters security firm owned by Mr Davie.

He was ambushed as he patrolled a recycling business over a long weekend on May 3, 2009.

Police understand that when Mr Ward could not pay back his loan a plan was hatched to rob a safe at Mr Davie’s garage.

That was after a clandestine meeting in Gippsland involving Mr Ward and Russian mafia representatives.

A plan was then put in place and Mr Ward, Garcia and Stewart travelled to Queens-land. Stewart and Garcia also wanted to punish Mr Davie after being accused of stealing handguns three years earlier.

Mr Ward’s involvement was suspected after Queensland police examined Garcia and Stewart’s mobile phone records and Mr Ward was captured on security camera footage at a number of convenience stores with the pair.

Police believe Mr Ward was present at the murders of the Davies but took no part in the killings.

Mr Davie’s body was found with at least 10 stab wounds at a recycling property he was patrolling. 

His wife’s body was located soon after at their Robina home. She had been stabbed to the chest and bashed with a hammer.

In the Queensland Supreme Court Justice Glenn Martin said: “The circumstances of Sandie Davie’s death indicate a serious level of malice. This can be drawn from the manner in which his body was found, the manner in which his hands were tied behind his back and the fact that his own blood was used to write the word ‘dog’ on the toilet door. This was not a spur-of-the-moment action.’’

Police identified Stewart’s DNA in investigations into Mr Davie’s murder and with other evidence orders were granted to extradite he and Garcia to Queensland.

By this time Mr Ward’s parents, Bernie and Jessie Ward, of Warrnambool, had reported their son missing and his Cortec Computers business vehicle was later found east of Melbourne.

While Garcia and Stewart were being held on remand in Queensland, they started ratting each other out.

One of them took police to Split Rock Dam in north-western New South Wales and officers found bone fragments and a large amount of spent ammunition.

DNA tests confirmed the remains belonged to Mr Ward. It’s believed one of the illegally obtained Camperdown shotguns was used in his murder.

Police believe Mr Ward was highly upset over the double murder and Stewart and Garcia had killed him to keep him quiet.

“It’s a bizarre set of circumstances,” a south-west police officer said.

“How does a gay computer shop owner in Camperdown get tied up with the Russian mafia, witness two murders and is then killed himself because he’s seen as the weak link? You couldn’t make it up.”

NSW homicide squad police also had warrants issued, which were carried out by local police, to seize Mr Ward’s personal computers.

South-west police do not know what’s contained on those computers but it’s expected that Garcia and Stewart will have to serve their Queensland sentences before they are charged with Mr Ward’s murder.

It’s also understood that admissions have been made in relation to the Camperdown computer store fire, but it is unknown when or if charges will ever be laid.