Neighbours recount break in, lead-up after woman arrested for murder after Gilberton death

The woman charged over the murder of a 65-year-old man is believed to have been facing eviction and acting erratically before she caused havoc on a Gilberton street.

A woman has been arrested and charged with murder after a man was found dead inside a unit in Adelaide’s inner-north.

Shocked residents say a half-naked woman “covered in blood” burst through their back door.

The horrifying incident unfolded around 7pm, originating in the troubled Bentzen Court unit block, where neighbours say chaos erupted without warning.

The scene of a suspicious death in Gilberton. Picture: Brett Hartwig.

A 65-year-old man, who lived alone and was described by his neighbours as “quiet” but “very pleasant,” died at his unit before the woman stormed into a neighbour’s backyard in a frenzied state.

Police said they were called to a home on Walkerville Tce after intruders were seen in the backyard.

Smashed glass at a house in Gilberton after a half-naked woman forced her way in. Picture: Supplied

Blood on the couch of the Gilberton home. Picture: Supplied

Soon after they received reports of a man collapsed in a neighbouring unit, where he was later found dead.

Jan and John said they had been watching TV at the time when they saw a woman jump the fence of their home.

“She came flying down the back steps, screaming,” one shaken resident said.

“She had no pants on, one shoe, just a shirt — and there was blood everywhere. She was covered in blood.

“She was ranting, rambling — not making any sense.

The woman, aged 30, was arrested at the house after a violent struggle with police.

She has since been charged with trespass and property damage as well.

The couple say they saw the woman jump a fence to get into the home. Picture: Supplied

There was a lot of mess left after the alleged break in. Picture: Supplied

Residents said it took five officers to subdue the woman, with one describing her as “completely out of it — screaming, kicking, bleeding.”

The couple said they were shocked to hear later that their neighbour had died.

“He was a nice man, kept to himself,” one resident said.

“It is sad this happened but not too surprising to be frank. The police are called to this block of units almost every day. It’s all public housing…it’s meth city in there.”

It’s understood the woman had also been residing at Bentzen Court.

Resident Jonathan Wilkinson said he had tried to help subdue her until police arrived.

He said she had been “in a bad way” for a couple of days after being told she was facing eviction from her unit.

“She hadn’t been herself for about three days, but she was facing eviction and she had also lost her dog,” he said.

“She was devastated.”

He said she had been acting erratically and there had been a few other incidents leading up to Monday.

“That’s confronting you know, especially when she’s talking fantasy talk I suppose,” he said.

He said she would talk about the “devil” and was “questioning a lot of things.”

“So she was in and out of being a sensible person. It’s hard to keep her calm.”

Forensic teams swarmed the unit block late into the night through to Tuesday, combing for evidence as detectives tried to piece together what happened.

The woman remains in custody as investigations continue.

She was taken to hospital for treatment of several lacerations.

“She is expected to be charged with murder and will face court at a later stage,” police said in a statement.

Originally published as Neighbours recount break in, lead-up after woman arrested for murder after Gilberton death