Woman dies after wild disturbance at Gold Coast home

A woman has died as residents defended their home in a dramatic Gold Coast disturbance overnight. Police say a male occupant - now in shock - had held her down. Read the latest from police.

Police at the scene of the incident in Tugun. Picture: Greg Stolz

A woman has died as residents defended their Gold Coast home in a wild neighbourhood disturbance - with police confirming a male occupant held the intruding woman down.

A neighbour has said they overheard people next door say “she’s gone”.

The woman, aged in her 30s, is believed to have entered a property in Partridge Place at Tugun about 3am on Tuesday - Gold Coast police Detective Inspector Chris Ahearn confirmed she was detained by a male occupant of the home.

“She has been held down on the ground in that position whilst police were contacted,” he said.

It is understood the occupant and his partner plus three children were at home.

The woman was not responsive when police arrived about 1.40am.

Paramedics attempts to revive her were also unsuccessful.

Two residents were treated by paramedics for minor injuries with the occupant who held her down taken to Gold Coast University Hospital and believed to be in shock.

Det Insp Ahearn said he would not go into whether anyone would be charged.

“We will conduct an investigation and it will inform us as to the facts of what happened and leading up to how this woman actually died,” he said.

“From there we will make an assessment as to where this investigation goes.”

It was earlier reported a scuffle followed the woman’s entry to the home and police arrived but the woman went into cardiac arrest and died at the scene.

The scene at Tugun where a woman has died in mysterious circumstances after a wild neighbourhood disturbance. Picture: Adam Head

Asked if he knew why the woman was at the home, Det Insp Ahearn said: “We don’t know the reason why she was on the property.

“There could have been any number of reasons.

“Certainly the home owner didn’t know the person and she had not been invited.”

Det Insp Ahearn said it was believed the woman had “loose associations” in the area and she was visiting earlier in the night.

He declined to say where she was from and if she was regularly in Tugun.

Det Insp Ahearn said it was “people’s right to defend their property” and detain someone as the occupant did.

“Those circumstances are going to be the subject of our investigation moving forward,” he said.

He said the resident who held her down was “devastated” and fully cooperating with police.

“It’s an extremely traumatic situation and that someone has died during these sequence of events is tragic,” he said.

Det Insp Ahearn said he did not recommend to people to restrain intruders.

“Restraining someone can be unpredictable and produce unpredictable medical outcomes,” he said.

“We don’t encourage people to do it if they find intruders on their property.”

He urged people to call Triple 0 if faced with an intruder.

Neighbour Carl Le-Poer-Trench said he was woken up in the early hours of Tuesday by “yelling and carrying on” next door.

He added a couple lived next door with children and were good neighbours.

“I got up and all the lights are on next door,” he said.

“There was something about ‘she looks like she is, you know, dying or something’ or ‘there is something wrong with her’,” he said.

“I couldn’t quite get a lot of it. You know, there is inaudible yelling.”

Detectives leave the Tugun property. Pics Adam Head

About ten minutes later he saw flashing lights from the ambulance and police, he said, adding he heard someone say something like “she is gone” or “she has passed”.

Mr Le-Poer-Trench said he thought the woman may have gotten into the neighbours by the back fence.

Partridge Place is near the John Flynn Hospital.

Mr Le-Poer-Trench said he had been in the area for 24 years and never had anything like this happened.

“It’s just a normal suburban area,” he said. “It’s near the airport so the planes can be a bit noisy at times but most of the time it’s alright.

“It’s just all families and old people - you get a few parties here and there.”

A police Ethical Standards Command probe has been launched and a report is expected to be prepared for the Coroner.

Police are urging anyone who may have seen the woman in the Tugun area that night to contact police on Police Link 131 444.

Originally published as Woman dies after wild disturbance at Gold Coast home