The stabbing death of 52-year-old Therese Brown in her Bulli home has left neighbours who knew her shocked and saddened.
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Police were called to the house on Hobart Street after Ms Brown’s brother, 46-year-old David Brown, walked into a Sydney police station on Friday and alerted officers to the death of his sister.
Mr Brown was suffering a single stab wound to the chest, believed to be self inflicted, when he spoke to police at Gladesville police station shortly after 5.30am.
He was later taken to Royal North Shore Hospital where he was on Friday assisting police with their inquiries.
Wollongong police were alerted and found Ms Brown’s body at 5.40am.
Strike Force Peel, comprising officers from Wollongong, Lake Illawarra and Ryde local area commands with the assistance of State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad, has since been established to investigate, police said.
A neighbour, who did not want to be identified, said Ms Brown was quirky ‘‘but harmless’’.
‘‘She would come and knock on the door for a chat for no reason,’’ the neighbour said.
‘‘I don’t know what it was but she’d walk down the street with you and she’d be talking normally and it was like she’d just go off on a tangent.
‘‘I was shocked cause I sort of had a soft spot for her.’’
The neighbour said Ms Brown and her brother lived in the house together.
A property title search showed the brother and sister have jointly owned the house since May 2010.
‘‘They seemed to get along,’’ the neighbour said
‘‘I thought he was looking after her.’’
The property where the woman’s body was found sits next to a horse paddock, and neighbours said the animals were occasionally allowed to graze in the property’s backyard.
The neighbour said she had been in shock since learning of Ms Brown’s death.
‘‘I thought they were harmless,’’ she said.
‘‘I know they used to have a few drinks in the backyard all night some nights, but they never bothered anybody.’’
Wollongong police detective acting inspector Darren Kelly said a man had presented himself to police at Gladesville Police Station shortly after 5.30am on Friday morning.
‘‘Police then responded to this address at 6 Hobart Street where they located a female deceased,’’ Insp Kelly said.
Inspector Kelly said a second crime scene had been established at Gladesville Police Station.
‘‘The male arrived in a vehicle which has since been in the process of being examined,’’ he said.
Fairfax media reported forensic services officers inspected a white Ford Laser parked outside the Gladesville police station and covered the car with a blue tent.
The driver’s seat appeared to have blood stains on it.
Insp Kelly said the Hobart Street address was known to police.
‘‘As with any investigation we look at background in relation to people and their history,’’ he said.
‘‘At this stage I can’t say whether mental health was an issue but I’m sure it’s something we’ll consider.’’
The distance from Bulli to Gladesville is about 76 kilometres.