A tranquil cul-de-sac in a posh Brisbane neighbourhood has been shocked by the ghastly discovery of the deaths of a man and woman inside a home, in a sight described by police as confronting and distressing.
Around 9.40 a.m. on Monday, police were called to a residence in Coolidge Court, Stretton, in the city’s south, and discovered the dead of a lady in her 40s and a male in his 20s upstairs in ‘suspicious circumstances.’
A 47-year-old man who allegedly contacted triple-0 and allowed authorities to enter his home is presently in jail and aiding investigators with their investigations.
No charges have been filed as of yet.
The man who had been helping the police with their investigation was transported to the hospital for treatment of severe injuries to his arms and lower legs, and a Cantonese interpreter was deemed necessary by the authorities.
Police confiscated two ‘bladed weapons’ from the site, which they suspect were used in the alleged ‘frenzied’ attack.
The victims have yet to be named formally.
The scene was characterised as distressing by police, with a huge amount of blood recovered on the staircase inside the property.
‘The scene was confronting and has been described as a (alleged) frenzied attack on the two deceased persons,’ Detective Superintendent Andrew Massingham told reporters.
A massive crime scene was built up as authorities roped off the peaceful cul-de-sac and knocked on neighbours’ homes, with the street still heavily policed on Monday afternoon.
‘So our forensic officers have been in on a couple of occasions now. The scene is quite traumatic in terms of a large amount of blood that is present,’ Det Supt Massingham said.
According to Det Supt Massingham, the man in prison is thought to have a “link to the address,” but his relationship with the two people discovered deceased has yet to be determined.
‘There were some language difficulties with the interpretation of what he was saying, an interpreter was used by the triple zero service,’ he said.
‘He has exercised his right to silence and has requested the presence of a solicitor.
‘It’s still very early days in the investigation and it’s important that we keep an open mind.
‘There’s been no information from neighbours to indicate that anything has been heard at this stage.’
Det Supt Massingham stated that there were CCTV cameras in front of the house that had yet to be examined.
The bodies are expected to be removed from the scene by Monday night with an autopsy to be completed by Tuesday.
Shocked neighbours told the Courier Mail a man, woman and boy aged 18 or 19 lived at the house. They were described as ‘lovely people who mainly kept to themselves’.
‘Recently I haven’t seen them too much but normally they are out in the yard,’ one man said.
‘I think the boy just got his licence not that long ago.
‘You don’t think this kind of thing will happen around you but obviously it has.’
Another told the ABC: ‘They kept to themselves, if they were going up the street you’d just wave, say hi and that was about it.’
Another local said said he heard a dog constantly barking on Sunday night.
‘In the morning it was very quiet until the police got here, the only thing we could recall was a dog barking and going crazy last night before the other dogs on the street started barking too,’ he said.
‘I have never heard any real noise or anything from that end of the street, it’s usually very quiet so it’s very scary and shocking.’
The property last sold for $760,000 four years ago, according to online data.
The median price for homes in Stretton is more than $900,000 and is home to a population of 4,334, according to the 2016 Census.
The average weekly household income for the suburb is $1,843, well above the national median of $1,234.
The cul-de-sac is situated in the famous ‘Presidents Estate’ – where each of the street names are in honour of famous former American presidents.
Calvin Coolidge was the 30th President of the US who served from 1923 to 1929. He died in 1933.