KEY POINTS

  • HAZMAT officers from Fire and Rescue helped police remove the body
  • A 20-year-old man, who was in a 'domestic relationship' with the woman, was arrested
  • Neighbors heard screams from the house hours before the police arrived 

A woman in Australia was found dead inside a bathtub filled with acid, police said. A 20-year-old man was arrested after the grisly discovery.

The incident happened at an apartment in the North Parramatta region of Western Sydney, reported The Australian. Officers made the discovery Sunday afternoon after a "concerned" relative alerted the police.

Parramatta Police Area Commander Superintendent Julie Boon told 7 News that officers had to force themselves into the unit, upon which they discovered the body in the bathroom. "The scene was very challenging for arriving police. When they did arrive and found chemicals inside the unit, they retreated," she said.

Following the discovery, HAZMAT officers from Fire and Rescue NSW were called for assistance. The woman’s body was removed from the unit around midnight.

Officers didn’t reveal the woman's identity and the cause of her death is yet to be established, though it is being treated as suspicious.

Following the incident, the police released a description of a man who is being investigated in connection with the death. However, the man later turned himself in.

Officers believe the incident was a domestic dispute. The man’s truck has also been seized for forensic examination, the outlet reported.

Boon also confirmed the man was in a "domestic relationship" with the woman, but no children were found inside the home.

Reports said officers surrounded the unit block throughout Monday and were seen collecting evidence from the crime scene. Forensic personnel were seen collecting toiletries from the bathroom window and rifling through the dumpster for evidence. Officers also collected crime scene samples from a cat which was later taken out and cleaned.

According to neighbors, they heard screams from the house hours before the police arrived on the scene.

Earlier this month, a 31-year-old Sydney man was arrested after a nine-year-old girl's body was found inside a barrel on Jan. 19.

The discovery was made by rescuers who were searching for the girl after she was reported missing in the Mount Wilson area. Further investigation revealed the suspect had purchased a "number of sandbags" from a hardware store, as well as fuel to "try and float" a boat at a dock in inner Sydney.

body
Representation. Pixabay