A 78-year-old woman is dead and her 86-year-old husband is assisting police with their inquiries in what detectives believe is an incident of family violence in Canberra's south.
Police were called to a townhouse at Togo Place in Gordon about 7.30am Sunday after reports of a disturbance.
Wanda Dorothy Uhle was found dead in the property, which she owned with her husband Manfred Uhle, by officers tasked with a welfare check.
Mr Uhle was taken into custody a short time later from a property in Fadden, and had been taken to Canberra Hospital to be assessed for what police said was a possible cardiac episode.
Detective Acting Superintendent Stephen Ladd said a murder investigation was under way but it was too early to say whether charges would be laid.
"We don't believe anybody else is involved. We are absolutely conducting more inquiries with family and friends at this time and we would urge anyone else that might have any information regarding this incident to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000," he said.
Detective Acting Superintendent Ladd said crime scenes of this type were "tricky" and it was likely crime scene investigators would stay on the scene until the early hours of Monday.
"I have no doubt that police and homicide investigators will be knocking on every door in the area, trying to get that background and that information as to what happened this morning," he said.
The police officer also refused to be drawn on the nature of the deceased woman's injuries, saying a post-mortem examination in the coming days would determine the 78-year-old's cause of death.
The woman and her husband were not previously known to police, Detective Acting Superintendent Ladd said.
A neighbour described the cul-de-sac to The Canberra Times as very quiet and said more police had been present in the morning.
Police had initially said the woman was 76, but later corrected their statement to confirm she was 78.
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