THE MAN WAS TWICE HER AGE AND ALLEGEDLY CONTROLLING..! – HEARTBREAKING DETAILS EMERGE ABOUT MICHAEL WALTKE AND JULIA BRUNSDON AFTER A TENSE SEVEN-HOUR POLICE SIEGE ENDED IN TRAGEDY AT A RURAL CHARLEVILLE PROPERTY.
A woman and man found dead at what police say was “quite a violent crime scene” in Charleville have been named, as police explained why officers were forced to retreat when they arrived.
Grace Koo, Iwan Jones, Michael Nolan, Tom Gillespie and Thomas Chamberlin
3 min read
August 6, 2026 – 1:57PM
Police at the scene in Charleville. Picture ABC NEWS
The identities of a man and woman at the heart of a suspected murder-suicide in Queensland’s southwest have been confirmed as Michael Waltke and Julia Brunsdon.
The bodies of the 45-year-old man and 23-year-old woman were found by specialist police inside a home in King St, Charleville, 700km west of Brisbane.
Police had been called to the home about 5.30pm after reports of a serious assault.
A child was initially present at the home, and was completely unharmed.
An emergency declaration was made shortly after, with streets locked down and residents ordered to remain indoors. That was revoked at 1.42am.
No police officers or members of the public were injured.
Police declared a PSPA after they were called to a property on King Street in Charleville.
Southern Region Assistant Commissioner Matthew Vanderbyl said when local police arrived they were confronted with “what was clearly quite a violent crime scene”.
“There were suggestions of further weapons being involved,” he said.
“As a direct result of that, police had to tactically withdraw for their own safety.”
The Special Emergency Response Team was deployed from Brisbane.
At about 1am, police entered the home and located the two bodies.
Mr Vanderbyl said the early indications were that the two died some time overnight.
“It was some hours after police had first attended, but we simply don’t know and it’s just way too early for us to speculate,” he said.
“Where there is potential for people to have passed away whilst police are in attendance, the Ethical Standards Command rightly gets involved.
“We term it a death in a police operation until anything points to the contrary.”
Flowers at the scene Thursday. Picture ABC NEWS
Mr Vanderbyl declined to comment on the nature of the relationship between the pair, or whether the incident would be treated as a murder-suicide.
“It is too early to speculate if it’s domestic violence related.
“We are still to fully establish the circumstances of who the deceased persons were and their role in the community, but Charleville is a small, close-knit community, and I joined with the mayor of the Murweh Shire Council this morning in saying that these types of events rock any community badly.
“It will be something which will have a tragic impact on the wider community of Charleville and not the least of the· friends and relatives of the deceased, with whom our thoughts must remain today as well.”
It’s understood investigators have not found any domestic violence history with the pair.
Long-time King Street resident Veronica Hickson said she was shocked to hear what happened.
“It is a little bit frightening, when it happened nearly across the road from where you’re living,” she said.
“They were a very quiet couple, you’d see them working in their yard.”
Mrs Hickson was with her daughter, who lives next door, when King Street went into lockdown.
Multiple streets in Charleville were put in lockdown for almost seven hours overnight. Picture: 4RRFM 105.7 Charleville
She said her son removed several fence panels between the properties so she could go to bed before the public safety act was revoked.
“I did not want to go on the street, because there were police everywhere with guns,” Mrs Hickson said.
“There were car loads of them, maybe a dozen or more.”
Business owner Kade Radnedge, whose mechanic’s shop on the corner of King and West St is just a few doors down from where the incident occurred, said at least eight police vehicles had converged on the scene.
“We were here until 8.30pm last night, houses down the street had to lock up,” he said.
“Everyone was ringing me to see if I was OK.”
Police at the scene in Charleville overnight.
The longtime resident said the tragedy had left a “daunting feeling” over the tight-knit community.
“I’ve been here for 25 years and I’ve never seen anything like this,” Mr Radnedge said.
“It’s a shock to the community, it’s a daunting feeling (because) you know what’s going to happen next.”
Murweh Shire Mayor Shaun Radnedge described the incident as a tragedy.
“This is a heartbreaking day for our community of Charleville,” Cr Radnedge said.
“My thoughts, and the thoughts of our councillors and staff, are with the families, friends and everyone affected by the deaths of a man and woman at a Charleville residence overnight.
Murweh Mayor Shaun Radnedge said it was a tragic incident. Picture: Nigel Hallett
“This tragedy will be felt deeply across our small community. I know many people will be struggling to come to terms with what has happened.
“I also want to mention our gratitude to our local and supporting police officers and emergency response agencies – for their commitment to the safety of our community.”
The matter will be investigated by the Ethical Standards Command and a report is being prepared for the coroner.
The Queensland Police Union said it was providing support and assistance to the officers in Charleville following the incident.
“No police were injured and operational details will be released by the QPS however incidents like this can have a lasting impact on those who attend them,” a union spokesperson said.
A man and 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.
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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.
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.
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“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.
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.”
