Domestic violence investigation underway after 78-year-old woman found dead in Canberra home and her 86-year-old husband arrested

The death of the 78-year-old woman is being treated as a homicide in the context of domestic violence. Her elderly husband is in hospital under police guard. No other suspects are being sought.

Officers were called to a home in Gordon, south of Canberra, to conduct a welfare check after a disturbance was reported at around 7.30am on Sunday.

They found the woman’s body in her house in Togo Place.

Detective Acting Superintendent Stephen Ladd said police arrested the woman’s 86-year-old husband at a home about 10 kilometres northeast in Fadden.

The man remains in hospital under police guard and is being treated for a possible heart attack.

No charges were filed.

“We are treating this as suspicious and treating it as a homicide investigation,” Superintendent Ladd told reporters.

The police did not want to give any further details about the crime scene or the woman’s injuries and said the cause of death would be determined by an autopsy.

Superintendent Ladd said he did not believe anyone else was involved in the incident and the couple were previously unknown to police.

“At this point, the husband is obviously assisting us with our investigation and because of that family relationship, we are treating this as an incident of family violence,” he said.

“Incidents like this are tragic and my sincere condolences go out to the friends and family.”

“If you think there are mental or physical problems, especially as people get older, you should talk to someone and get the support you need to avoid these situations.”

Meanwhile, a 43-year-old man has also been arrested in connection with the death of a woman in Darwin.

Northern Territory police said they received reports of an unresponsive woman at a home in Coconut Grove in the city’s north at around 12.30pm on Sunday.

A 36-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

A 43-year-old man reported to police and was arrested, NT police said in a statement on Sunday.

He remains in custody.

It is assumed that the man and the woman know each other.

A crime scene has been designated as a crime scene and investigations are ongoing.

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