26 Apr 2024

Gardener charged with murder after 70-year-old found dead in Queensland home

8:49 am on 26 April 2024
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia - 29th October 2019 : View of the australian Police sign against a blue sky located outside a police station in Greenslopes, Brisbane, Australia

Photo: 123RF

A 26-year-old man has been charged with murder after a man in his 70s was found dead at a home north of Brisbane on Thursday morning.

Police arrived at the house on Bramston Court in Burpengary East at 9:20am to conduct a welfare check when they found the body of Nicholas Reeves.

His wife, Suzanne Reeves, also in her 70s, was taken to the Royal Brisbane Hospital with "significant injuries to the head", Detective Inspector David Harbison said.

On Thursday night, police said in a statement the man had been charged with one count of murder and one count of attempted murder.

He was refused bail and is due to appear in Pine Rivers Magistrates Court on Friday, police said.

Earlier on Thursday, Harbison said a 26-year-old man was believed to be gardening at the house next door when an argument allegedly broke out.

"Unfortunately, the victims have been severely injured, one fatally," Harbison said.

"Police are still investigating if an implement or weapons were used in this incident … we don't have the full facts yet."

Police said the man was onsite when police arrived and was taken into custody without incident.

"He was just seated waiting for police," Harbison said.

Harbison said he was not known to the victims, adding that it was not a domestic violence incident.

The house next door has also been declared a crime scene, and police are urging witnesses or anyone with dashcam footage to contact police.

- This story was first published by the ABC