An elderly man killed in a suspected father-son murder-suicide had been battling cancer for several years before dying of shock.
Brian Scherr, 88, was discovered by emergency workers at his Glenelg North home in Adelaide about 1.30pm on Tuesday.
About 15 hours later, Mr Scherr's son, Peter, 63, was found dead at the same address.
The younger man's body was found at around 4.10am on Wednesday, just hours after an investigation into his father's death was launched.
Police are treating their deaths as a suspected murder-suicide.
Neighbor Norman Schueard revealed that Brian, who he chatted with over their shared fence, had been battling cancer in recent years.
“He had cancer and was treated for it in Sydney for a number of years, but I think it was under control,” he said The advertiser.
'He was a nice guy. Very friendly. I used to hang over the fence and talk to him.”
An elderly man killed in a suspected father-son murder-suicide had been battling cancer for several years before he was found dead in this Glenelg North home.
Peter Scherr, 63, and his wife were seen walking in Glenelg North, hours after his father was found dead in his home in what police are treating as a murder-suicide
Shocked neighbors described the men who lived in the house as quiet and friendly
Mr Schueard said Peter moved into the house about three to four months ago.
He said he had only spoken to him once, but had talked to his 'pleasant' wife several times over the fence.
Mr. Schueard said he had assumed the police were coming to ask him about a home invasion when they knocked on his door.
Instead, he learned that his longtime friend and neighbor had been found dead in the house and that his son's body was found just 15 hours later.
He said the air traffic controller had come over from Brisbane a few years ago.
Shocked neighbors recalled seeing the distraught son, 63, walking with a woman believed to be his partner shortly after the coroner visited the house.
“The man even put his arm around her,” one woman told The Advertiser.
“And because they were hugging each other and walking down the street there, I thought they were obviously sad about what happened.”
Detectives and forensic officers on Wednesday examined the home in Glenelg North where a father and son were found dead 15 hours apart in a suspected murder-suicide.
Police were seen removing brown bags of evidence from the home earlier this week
The father and son lived on a quiet, leafy street in an affluent beachside suburb of Adelaide
Keith Miller told the pair that the older man had felt unwell that morning and had gone back to bed after breakfast.
'I do not believe it. They were nice people, I don't think so,” he said.
'But everyone in the house got along well. I never heard any loud or strange noises from the house and they were all very friendly when we saw each other.'
The home last sold for $425,000 in 2005, according to property records.
Detectives and forensic officers spent the past two days investigating the Kibby Avenue home and were seen removing two large desktop computers from the home.
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