A FATHER and son who sparked a manhunt across three states following a police shoot out have pleaded guilty to murder.

Gino and Mark Stocco pleaded guilty today in New South Wales to the murder of Rosario Cimone, 68, who was shot dead on the same property where the Stoccos were captured by police on October 28 last year.

Their arrest followed eight years on the run where they preyed on isolated farmers stealing from them or destroying their property when friendships soured.

The pair sparked a two-week manhunt last year after they were involved in a police shootout.

It ended on the rural property at Dunedoo, northeast of Dubbo, where the body of the caretaker of the property, Mr Cimone, was found in a shallow grave.

The pair have been in custody since their arrest and are facing up to 30 charges each.

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Follwing the guilty plea at Dubbo Local Court, the pair has been committed for sentence in the NSW Supreme Court later this year.

During their time on the run the Stoccos — armed with a high powered rifle and shotgun — were in Victoria last October.

The Stoccos shot at NSW highway patrol officers near the Victorian border on October 16.

The next day police found the pair’s dumped Nissan Navara near Wagga Wagga.

In a bid to flee, the father and son stole a white Toyota LandCruiser ute from a property in the NSW Riverina region.

The next day, the Stoccos, fresh-shaven and clean, were spotted refuelling a stolen ute at a petrol station in Eurora, in northeast Victoria.

A day later, the pair were spotted driving on the Melba Highway near the town of Glenburn, in central Victoria, before being captured on CCTV at a supermarket in Bairnsdale.

The day after, a high speed chase was ensued when police spotted them at a check point near Castella, but police lost them.

Hours later a Victorian police car was rammed near St James by a LandCruiser with numberplates stolen from Tumbarumba, NSW.

Two days later, that stolen ute was spotted in Sale.

The pair were eventually arrested four days later after a man was killed on a property near Dunedoo in central-western NSW.

Originally published as Father-son fugitives admit murder