AAP
A year to the day after he was captured in remote bushland after seven years on the run, NSW's former most-wanted fugitive, Malcolm Naden, has pleaded guilty to murdering two women.
In the Supreme Court in Sydney on Friday, Naden, 39, pleaded guilty to 18 charges against him, which also included indecent assault of a girl, the attempted murder of a police officer attempting to capture him and a string of breaking-and-entering and larceny offences while he was on the run.
The guilty plea was an emotional moment for the families of Naden's two murder victims, who had waited since 2005 for justice.
Naden's cousin, Lateesha Nolan, 24, went missing from Dubbo in NSW's northwest in January that year and her body has never been found.
A few months later, Kristy Scholes, also 24, was discovered strangled in the bedroom of Naden's grandparents' house at Dubbo in June 2005 - days before Naden went on the run.
Ms Scholes uncle, Tony Scholes, said the last eight years had taken its toll on the family.
"In one word, it was terrible," he told reporters outside court.
"Sitting around waiting for this man to be captured. It's been a big ordeal for all our family.
"It was difficult for me (to see Naden in court). I don't mind saying that I felt anger."
Some of Ms Scholes' aunts wept in court as Naden, a former abattoir worker, entered his guilty pleas.
Wearing prison greens, he stood erect in the dock with his hands behind his back, bending down towards the microphone as he entered each plea in a clear voice.
It marked the end of one of the most extensive manhunts in the state, with several near misses as police carried out painstaking mapping of large bushland areas to try and capture him.
While hiding out in the bush, Naden broke into several properties between 2005 and 2012, stealing thousands of items of food and clothing, as well as several weapons.
Among the items taken were beer, 5kg of raw cashews, a semi-automatic rifle and a book titled Dreams.
On December 7, 2011, police believed they had finally succeeded when they cornered Naden near a campsite at Nowendoc.
But he escaped after shooting a policeman in the shoulder.
A reward of $50,000 for information leading to his capture had risen to $250,000 by the time Naden was finally arrested on a private property near Gloucester in mid-north NSW.
He has been in custody ever since.
Earlier this year, the court heard he might not be mentally fit to enter a plea, and a mental fitness hearing was set down for April.
However, last week his lawyers said this was no longer an issue.
Naden will face a sentence hearing on April 24.
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