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Body found at property, police charge man who was doing ‘gardening work’
By Cloe Read
Police have charged a 26-year-old Beachmere man after the death of a 74-year-old man and the serious injury of a woman at Burpengary East on Thursday.
The man has been charged with one count of murder, and one count of attempted murder.
He was refused police bail and is due to appear in Pine Rivers Magistrates Court on Friday.
The man, who was arrested at the Burpengary East property where police found the body of the elderly man, had been doing gardening work before an altercation broke out, detectives believe.
Officers launched a homicide investigation after they conducted a welfare check at the property on Bramston Court, north of Brisbane, about 9.20am.
Detective Inspector David Harbison said officers found a man in his 70s dead at the scene, and a severely injured woman, also aged in her 70s, with significant trauma to her head.
“It is understood from the early investigation that the 26-year-old male person was on and about these premises here conducting some gardening work,” Harbison said.
“A dispute of some type has broken out and an altercation and unfortunately the victims have been severely injured, one fatally.”
Police investigate at the Burpengary East crime scene where an elderly man was killed and a woman severely injured.Credit: Nine News
He said detectives did not believe the man was known to the victims, and stressed it was not a domestic violence incident. Detectives believed the man had never worked at the property before, had been dropped off by friends and had been working alone.
When asked what the 26-year-old was doing when police arrived, Harbison answered: “He was just going about his business, just routinely, he stayed on site and waited for police arrival.”
Harbison said police were still unsure what had caused the dispute, but a witness had reported the altercation to police.
Detective Inspector David Harbison speaks to journalists after police found an elderly man’s body and a seriously injured woman during a welfare check.Credit: QPS
He said the witness was devastated, and the scene was traumatic, including for first responders.
The woman was rushed to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in a serious condition, where she remained undergoing treatment.
Neighbour Douglas Hutchings told Nine News he helped the woman into an ambulance.
“I just helped a woman that was in distress. She looked very out of it ... I just helped the police officers and the ambulance officers put her on a gurney and put her in the ambulance,” Hutchings said.
Police were still investigating if weapons were used. Harbison would not elaborate on whether anything had been seized from property.
He would not be drawn on questions of whether the man, who was arrested uninjured and without incident, had attempted to alter anything at the scene.
Part of the police investigation would include speaking with the man’s friends, Harbison said.
The man had also been doing gardening work at another property.
“This is a nice quiet area, so it’s a confronting scene to be met by attending a welfare call without the full information and this rolls out in front of you and unfortunately this is policing and this is happening too often,” he said.
Police investigate at the Burpengary East crime scene.Credit: Nine News
Harbison said police hoped the woman would recover.
“She’s in a serious, life-threatening condition,” he said.
Police urged anyone who might have been in the area on Bramston Court on Thursday morning with information to come forward.