Tomislav Nemes death: Family ‘distressed’, call for anyone with information to contact police

The distressed Canberra-based family of a man found ‘mummified’ at a Gold Coast home have appealed for anyone with information to come forward as police probe the cause of his death.

Tomislav Nemes was found dead in his Benowa home in April.

Lawyers for the Canberra-based relatives of a man found dead at his Gold Coast home say they have been left “distressed” by his death and encourage anyone with information to go to police.

Police believe Tomislav Nemes, 69, had been deceased for more than a year before his body was found at the luxury Benowa residence they say he shared with his 70-year-old wife and 48-year-old stepson.

The discovery came after interstate relatives of Mr Nemes called on police to conduct a welfare check after being unable to reach him.

Lawyers at Canberra firm Aulich Civil Law, representing Mr Nemes’s relatives, told the Bulletin they had been upset by the discovery of his passing.

“Mr Nemes’ relatives are understandably distressed by Mr Nemes’ death and ask for privacy at this time. They do not wish to make any comments,” they said.

“Police are investigating Mr Nemes’ death. The relatives encourage anyone who has been in contact with Mr Nemes in recent years or has been to the house to please come forward to the police.”

Tomislav Nemes.

Mr Nemes’s Benowa home.

Mr Nemes moved to the Gold Coast in 2018, residing at a five-bed, four-bedroom house he and Dragica Nemes had purchased for $1.5 million in February 2008.

He had previously lived at an opulent five-bedroom home in the Canberra suburb of Bruce.

Detectives believe Mr Nemes, known as Tom to family and friends, had been dead inside the home for at least 12 months.

Police have launched a suspicious death investigation and said the wife and stepson were being treated as “persons of interest” and had been co-operating with officers “to an extent”. Police were also investigating whether or not the body had been tampered with or moved.

Gold Coast Criminal Investigation Branch acting detective inspector Mark Proctor said homicide detectives were assisting with the investigation.

“We’re not looking to lay charges at this point in time but we are fully investigating the incident,” he said.

“We’re being assisted by the homicide investigation unit and the investigation, Operation Victor Countryside, is in full swing at Burleigh Heads.

“We are investigating all the circumstances around Mr Nemes’s death.”

PREVIOUSLY: APPEAL TO FIND WILL

An interstate law firm is appealing to find the will of a man whose body had been decomposing for more than a year with his wife and stepson living alongside it in a $3 million home.

Australian Capital Territory lawyer Erin Taylor, a partner at Aulich Civil Law in Canberra, published a notice in the Queensland Law Society’s Proctor publication calling on anyone holding or knowing the whereabouts of a will from Tomislav Nemes to contact the firm.

Mr Nemes, 69, was in April found in a mummified state at the luxury Edinburgh Rd house he shared in Benowa on the Gold Coast with his 70-year-old wife and 48-year-old stepson.

The discovery came after Canberra-based relatives of Mr Nemes called police to conduct a welfare check after being unable to reach him.

Police are investigating the suspicious death of Tomislav Nemes.

Acting detective inspector of the Gold Coast Criminal Investigation Branch Mark Proctor said this week: “They had lost touch with Mr Nemes over the years. However they found it unusual that, in a lengthy period, they hadn’t had any contact at all from anyone who’d seen him. So they alerted the police.”

Police have launched a suspicious death investigation and said the wife and stepson were being treated as persons of interest and had been co-operating with police “to an extent”. Police were also investigating whether or not the body had been tampered with or moved.

Detectives believe Mr Nemes had been dead inside the home for at least 12 months, and maybe as much as two years.

“The body was in an advanced state of decomposition,” Det Insp Proctor said. “It did have a mummified look to it.

“But there was no attempts to preserve the body in any way. It wasn’t wrapped or anything.”

The Benowa house where Tomislav Nemes was found dead. Picture: CoreLogic

The luxury five-bed, four-bathroom house where the body was found was bought by Dragica and Tomislav Nemes for $1.5 million in February 2008.

It was described by real estate agents at the time as a “masterpiece” and “waterfront stunner”, with 2.4 metre ceilings, ducted air-conditioning and a vacuum maid system listed among its features.

“There is just so much space and freedom to live,” agents wrote at the time of the 361 sq/m property.

The Benowa house where Tomislav Nemes was found dead. Picture: CoreLogic

The house, which backs onto a lake on the exclusive street, is now estimated to be worth almost $3 million.

It was listed for rent at $1000 per week shortly after its 2008 purchase, with Mr Nemes only moving to the Gold Coast from Canberra ten years later.

Mr Nemes, who was born on 13 November 1953, was known as Tom to friends, but neighbours of his Benowa home said the family kept to themselves and were not well known in the area.

“They were very quiet people,” one said.

Police are investigating the suspicious death of 69-year-old Tomislav Nemes.

Det Insp Proctor said Mr Nemes’s death was being treated as “suspicious” by police, with homicide detectives assisting with the investigation.

“We’re not looking to lay charges at this point in time but we are fully investigating the incident,” he said.

“We’re being assisted by the homicide investigation unit and the investigation, Operation Victor Countryside, is in full swing at Burleigh Heads.

“We are investigating all the circumstances around Mr Nemes’s death.”

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