Casagrande, whose property backs onto the Beres family home, said the couple had been celebrating with friends in their backyard earlier this week and seemed to be in good spirits.
“There was laughter and chit-chat and everything seemed very normal pre-Christmas … an enjoyable, pleasant feeling,” she said.
“They always say hello and speak when they walk past. There’s been no upsets of any kind, it’s been very peaceful, nothing like this you would imagine would happen.”
Homicide squad detective inspector Dean Thomas said investigators were still working to put together a timeline of the incident, but they believed Mrs Beres had been stabbed in the early hours of Thursday morning.
“The family of the victim have been spoken to and obviously they are extremely upset … I believe the family gathered here yesterday at the address to celebrate Christmas,” Thomas said.
“Here we have what appears to be a family violence type incident where we’ve had a female killed. We need to do everything we can to bring a stop to this type of crime occurring.”
Thomas said there was no recorded history of violence between the couple.
The street was cordoned off for most of Thursday as investigators examined the scene.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
“We are still trying to piece together what has gone on and why it has occurred,” he said.
Wood Duck Court remained cordoned off for most of Thursday as forensic investigators examined the house. Officers could be seen walking along the street in overalls and taking photographs of the surroundings of the property.
A neighbour who did not want to provide her name for privacy reasons said she had briefly spoken to Mrs Beres on a couple of occasions since they moved in, and she was “an extremely nice lady”.
The neighbour said she had noticed the couple’s four-wheel-drive parked at the back of the property and assumed they were about to set off on a caravaning trip.
“Having met her, this just made me very sad … the impression you got is that it was a happy family,” she said.
Anyone who witnessed the incident, with dashcam/CCTV footage or information, is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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