This is the remote bushland spot where detectives searching for missing dog walker Shereen Kumar found her body wrapped in plastic and dumped.
The reserve is just 1.5 miles – or a four-minute drive – from the house she shared with her boyfriend Vincent Carlin on Taylors Road in Dural in Sydney’s northwest.
Carlino is now in custody and charged with the murder of his girlfriend. He did not apply for bail when he stood before Parramatta Court on Sunday.
He was arrested around 11:30 p.m. Saturday night, just hours after Ms Kumar’s body was found in the wet bushes.
Daily Mail Australia understands that he did not make a scene or say anything to the detectives when he was taken away. His lawyer, Elias Tabchouri, said Carlino is still in shock and processing the news that his girlfriend is dead.
Carlino was the one who raised the alarm about her disappearance. He called the police on Thursday morning and told how they had argued the night before and that Mrs. Kumar left the house in the heat of battle.
This image shows the isolated bushland where detectives searching for model, dog walker and mother Shereen Kumar found her body wrapped in plastic on Saturday
Police will allege Carlino and Ms Kumar had an ‘on and off’ relationship dating back to April 2021
There is no street lighting anywhere along the road and the houses are so far from the street that even dim interior lighting does little to clear the way
The couple’s vans with their dog walking company logos were towed from the house Monday afternoon
The police had doubts about his story. The isolated stretch of road where the couple lived is dead quiet at night and pitch dark relatively early in the evening in winter.
There are no street lights anywhere along the road and the houses are so far from the street that even dim interior lighting would do little to clear the way if Ms Kumar had slipped outside when her boyfriend claimed she did.
Wednesday night it rained hard, creating muddy trenches between the road and every house on the street.
Just a four minute drive down the road where Mrs. Kumar was found, the terrain is much the same.
Meanwhile, detectives returned to the couple’s neat semi-detached duplex on Monday to continue their investigation.
They only moved three months ago and steadily got to know their immediate neighbors.
The couple’s vans with their dog walking company logos were towed from the home by investigators Monday afternoon.
Ms Kumar’s body was found Saturday afternoon in bushland at the back of Laurie Street – four days after she disappeared
Detectives stayed on the scene Monday to search bags and boxes as the investigation continued
Shereen Kumar, 43, (pictured) is remembered as an ‘incredible mother’ by her heartbroken family
Neighbors say Ms. Kumar and Carlino were quiet and friendly, seemed like a hardworking but happy couple and were not known to argue.
Police are now working backwards to merge Ms Kumar’s last known hours and Carlino’s movements.
Detectives use investigative technology and analyze CCTV footage from the area as part of the investigation — taking both Kumar and her boyfriend’s vans for further investigation.
Forensic specialists are expected to travel back and forth from the home in the coming days as the investigation progresses.
The couple who live on the other side of the duplex offered to get out of the way and stay with family while the investigation takes place.
They said they spoke to Carlino the day after Ms. Kumar disappeared and he made it a point to tell them she was suffering from depression.
It was cold, rainy, and miserable the night Mrs. Kumar disappeared. There are no street lights on Taylors Road and much of the grass had turned to mud after weeks of continued wet weather. The couple were shocked that someone would want to be caught outside on such a night
While most of the houses on the secluded street are separated by huge blocks of land, Carlino and Mrs. Kumar lived in a small maisonette duplex and shared a wall with their neighbors.
They still hope the charges against Carlino will be dropped as they struggle to reconcile the “nice man” they know with the charges against him.
“We’ve never heard them argue,” said the neighbor.
‘We share a wall, so we know everything. If they take a shower, we’ll know. If they leave the house, we’ll know. He is a nice guy and they are a hard working couple. We just don’t know what happened.’
Police will allege that Carlino killed Ms Kumar sometime after 9pm on Wednesday, wrapped her in plastic and tape and dumped her body 1.5 miles from their home.
The couple began dating in April 2021 and were in an “on and off” relationship, according to police.
They broke up late last year before reconciling and moving to Dural together in May.
Ms. Kumar will be remembered as ‘calm and sweet’ among the neighbors on the street. She came across as hardworking, but rarely said much.
On Monday morning, Mrs. Kumar’s neighbors packed some bags and left the house as the police investigation into her death continues.
Her ex-husband Gurpreet Beehan, the father of her two children, told Daily Mail Australia the family is “heartbroken” and will “make sure” she gets the justice she deserves.
He said Ms. Kumar was a “strong woman” devoted to their children, and her death had created a hole in their lives that would never be filled.
“She was an incredible mother to our children and she will be missed forever,” Mr Beehan said.
“No one can replace a mother and this has destroyed us all.”
Mr Beehan said he had to have a difficult conversation with his children about what had happened to their mother.
“I don’t have the answers,” he said.
Carlino and Ms. Kumar took over as franchisees of dog walking service Hornsby Mad Dogs & Englishmen last October.
In court on Sunday, Carlino did not request bail, while his lawyer, Mr Tabchouri, told reporters that his client was “very concerned” about the charges.
Mr Tabochouri said it is “too early to say” how his client intends to argue.
“At this stage, I have no other instructions but to wait for the evidence and proceed from there,” Mr Tabchouri said.