Murder charge laid after stabbing in North Queensland

A man has been charged with murder after another man was allegedly stabbed to death inside a flat in a major regional city.

Police have charged a man with murder after he allegedly forced his way into a Townsville flat and stabbed a man “several times”.

Police said the 31-year-old man who has been charged and the 26-year-old man who died knew each other.

A police spokesperson said when emergency services arrived at the Kirwan flat about 4.30pm on Monday, they found the 26-year-old man with multiple serious injuries.

“Despite attempts to revive the man, he was declared deceased at the scene,” the spokesperson said.

The 26-year-old male victim died at the scene.

Police launched a homicide investigation into incident in the flat located above a Thai restaurant on Thuringowa Dr, a major thoroughfare of the North Queensland city.

“Police will allege that entry was forced,” Detective Acting Inspector Chris Caswell said.

Detective Acting Inspector Caswell said the dead man was not a resident of the flat, but he was there lawfully.

He said a woman, known to the victim and alleged offender, was also in the flat at the time of the incident and was assisting police with their inquiries.

“She’s not a suspect in relation to the matter,” he said.

Detective Acting Inspector Caswell, who described the scene as “confronting”, said the domestic violence order had been in place for a number of months.

He said an edged weapon was used to stab the man, and that police had seized the weapon they believe was used.

The 31-year-old was located at the premises and taken into custody.

In the Townsville Magistrates Court, he will face one charge each of murder, enter dwelling and commit, and contravention of domestic violence order.

Emergency services were called to the incident involving multiple people in the Townsville suburb of Kirwan about 4.30pm on Monday

No one else was physically injured during the incident.

Investigations are ongoing.