Woman who had been dead for weeks found at New Town house

Three police officers stand under a small shelter in a suburban street

Tasmania Police says investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of a woman’s death in New Town. (ABC News: Loretta Lohberger)

The body of a woman who police believe has been dead for weeks has been found in a house in Hobart’s north, with police treating her death as suspicious.

Tasmania Police Detective Inspector David Gill said over the past week, family members had raised concerns about the mental health of a man in his 50’s who lived at the house.

This prompted police, along with staff from a mental health acute care team, to visit the address on Lissadell Court in New Town on Saturday morning.

Inspector Gill said police spoke with the man at the doorway of the home, and then detained him.

He was then taken to the Royal Hobart Hospital for mental health treatment.

Two police cars are parked on a suburban street

Emergency services remained at the scene on Sunday. (ABC News: Loretta Lohberger)

Emergency services were then called back to the property at about 4 o’clock the same day.

“It wasn’t until later that day that another person attended the address to visit and found the body of the deceased woman on the floor,” Inspector Gill said.

“She was laying on the floor in the corridor.

“At this stage, we are treating the woman’s death as suspicious; however, we are keeping an open mind as to the possibility that the woman’s death may be a result of natural causes.

“The woman had obviously been dead inside the house for some weeks.

“That alone is sufficient to class it as a suspicious death and require further investigation.”

A street sign that reads Lissadell Court

A woman’s body was found at Lissadell Court in New Town, Hobart. (ABC News: Loretta Lohberger)

Police said the woman has not been formally identified, but it is believed she was in her 60s and lived at the house.

Police believe the man and the woman had lived at the property together for some time, and had been known to police dating back 16 years in relation to neighbourhood disputes.

An autopsy will be completed on Monday.

The man in his 50s has since been cleared by medical staff at the Royal Hobart Hospital and is in police custody.

The crime scene is expected to stay in place as police continue to investigate until Monday afternoon.

Detective Inspector Gill said investigations would take some time to process the scene.

“It’s chaotic in relation to being cluttered,” he said.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the police.