A woman walked into the backyard of her southern Sydney home and discovered her husband's body covered in blood, according to her triple-zero call.
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Police arrived at the couple's home about 7pm on Monday and found injuries to the 54-year-old man's upper body.
On Tuesday, police said they wouldn't elaborate on how extensive those injuries were or whether a weapon was involved.
The couple's home is now a crime scene, and detectives are treating the man's death as suspicious.
William Ryan, a long-term resident of Burrinjuck Place, in the southern suburb of Miranda, said he had been a neighbour to the couple for about 20 years.
"It was quite a shock," he said. "A very sad affair, that's for sure."
He had last seen the dead man, who he knew only as "Paul", as recently as the weekend.
"He was a quiet guy, a nice guy. [There were] never any dramas."
Mr Ryan said had been home from 4pm on Monday, reflecting on the quiet street as he mowed his front lawn until dusk.
It wasn't until late on Monday night, just shy of midnight, when police knocked on his door that he learned of the tragedy that had occurred. Several hours later, Mr Ryan woke to the sound of a tow-truck removing a car, which he thought belonged to the couple, from the street.
Mr Ryan said the street was a small cul-de-sac of just eight homes and anything out of the ordinary wouldn't go unnoticed, he said.
He said the street had been especially still on Monday afternoon.
"It's one of those sort of streets that if another car comes out, you'd remember it," he said.
In the two decades he has lived on Burrinjuck Place, Mr Ryan said he had never been burgled.
"I'd be very surprised if it was a robbery. I've never had anything happen that would make me be more conscious of security," he said.