This was published 3 years ago
Woman found in chest a week after alleged murder-suicide by partner
By Matt Dennien
A woman believed to have been killed by her partner and carer in a suspected murder-suicide had been placed in a furniture chest in the pair’s Gold Coast apartment and may have been dead for at least a week, police say.
The 53-year-old man was initially found dead by the manager of the Sapphire Apartments building in Labrador on Friday morning, after they conducted a welfare check on the de-facto couple who had not been seen for some time.
Detective Inspector Chris Ahearn said after police arrived the body of a 48-year-old woman, who has not yet been formally identified, was also found.
“We believe she’s been murdered at this stage,” Mr Ahearn said. “There’s some suggestion to point to that.”
“The woman has been found in a chest, a furniture chest, that was located inside the apartment. Our early indications are [the bodies were there] at least back to last weekend.”
Post mortem results expected on Saturday would help determine the causes and timeframe of the deaths, though police have appealed for anyone with information to come forward.
Mr Ahearn said the pair were believed to have been in a relationship for a decade and moved into the apartment from Victoria about three years ago.
There had been no domestic violence orders in place and conversations with the man’s family had not suggested any problem with the relationship.
The man had no obvious physical injuries and had appeared to have died more recently under non-suspicious circumstances, while police were still to establish the extend of injuries suffered by the woman.
“One of the lines of our investigation is into the medical condition of the female person prior to her tragic death,” Mr Ahearn said.
“We are intent on getting answers for the family as to why and how these two people have died.”
A crime scene remains in place as forensic investigations continue.
National Sexual Assault, Family & Domestic Violence Counselling Line: 1800 737 732. Crisis support can be found at Lifeline: (13 11 14 and lifeline.org.au), the Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467 and suicidecallbackservice.org.au) and beyondblue (1300 22 4636 and beyondblue.org.au).