Taringa murder charges: Man lay dead in home for five days, court hears

A Brisbane man found dead in his inner-west home last week was murdered five days before his body was found, a court has heard, as two men charged with his murder appeared via video link.

Police allege a 48-year-old man found dead in his Taringa home last week was murdered five days before his body was found.

Two 33-year-old Brisbane men were arrested and charged with the murder yesterday, five days after the man’s body was discovered in his home.

The victim was identified as Brisbane man Andrew Wright Stephens.

One of the men, Michael Bradley Small, 33, appeared via video link to the Brisbane Magistrates Court this morning where he was formally charged with one count of murder.

Deputy Chief Magistrate Janelle Brassington said it was alleged the pair killed the 48-year-old on Sunday, August 30, five days before his body was found in a Waverley Street home on Thursday.

Police applied for a forensic procedure order which Small did not oppose.

Forensic procedure orders, depending on the conditions, can allow officers to take DNA evidence such as hair, saliva and blood.

His alleged co-offender Scott Richard Gordon, 33, also faced court via video link for a brief mention of his murder charge.

The pair both had their cases adjourned to September 28 for mention. They are unable to apply for bail in the Magistrates Court jurisdiction.

Gordon and Small were arrested and charged with murder yesterday following a homicide investigation into the suspicious death.

Police were called to a Waverley Road address around 3pm on September 3 where the body of a man was located.

A crime scene was immediately established at the residence, with Indooroopilly detectives assisted by Crime and Intelligence Command’s Homicide Investigation Unit investigating the suspicious death.