A man and a pregnant woman found dead in a suspected murder-suicide on a rural property have been identified as shocked friends confirm the couple were expecting a child.
Michael Waltke, 45, and Julia Brunsdon, 23, were found dead inside a property on King St in Charleville, Queensland, after reports of a serious assault about 6pm on Wednesday. Police said they were met by a “violent and confronting scene”, with officers alerted to further weapons inside the home.
Police standoff and child rescue
A Public Safety Preservation Act (PSPA) was declared, with specialist teams flying in from Brisbane as police negotiated with the man for seven hours. Officers found a toddler on the front stairs of the home, with Assistant Commissioner Matthew Vanderbyl saying they put themselves “back into harm’s way” to grab the child before retreating.
The toddler — a young girl — was taken to a local hospital unharmed. Parts of Charleville were locked down for eight hours during the PSPA.
Bodies found and investigation
The PSPA was revoked about 1.42am on Thursday when police found the bodies of Waltke and Brunsdon inside the home. Their exact cause of death has not been confirmed. “It’s way too early for us to speculate. This is a really complex investigation,” Vanderbyl said.
A friend of Brunsdon told 7NEWS she had been pregnant at the time of her death. Waltke worked in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), where some former colleagues described him as “controlling” and said he “didn’t like to be challenged”. Brunsdon worked in employment services, where she was remembered by colleagues as someone who “would brighten your day” and “loved being a mum” and was excited to do it all over again.
Community impact
Police have not given an exact time of death. “There will still need to be quite a lot of work to determine a full picture here,” Vanderbyl said. “Charleville is a small tight-knit community... it will be something that has a tragic impact on the wider community.”
