A Queanbeyan man has been charged with murder after a man house-sitting for a friend was found dead in a home at the weekend.
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It was the third alleged murder in the Canberra region in little more than a week.
A 20-year-old man was arrested on Thursday, less than a week after the body of the 43-year-old Queanbeyan resident was found in a Currie Street home.
NSW Police said the pair were allegedly involved in an argument at a service station on Lowe Street last month. The pair parted ways about 6.30pm on December 20 but again crossed paths when the younger man was driving along Cooma Road in Karabar about 30 minutes later.
Words were exchanged before the driver allegedly performed a U-turn and struck the older man with his car. The 43-year-old was taken to hospital for a range of injuries but was later released.
Queanbeyan duty officer Inspector Tony Hill said police could not confirm the time of the man's death, but believe the cause was related to his injuries.
Inspector Hill said officers were called to the scene after friends found the man's body on Sunday. Police then realised his connection to the December 20 incident.
Currie Street residents said the man had been looking after the house for his friend, who had been at Summernats with his family.
Neighbours said the 43-year-old stayed at the home on the Saturday night and was seen driving his car and walking around.
''To be a good friend and to be looking after the house, [for the family] to come home and discover that … it's not a real good way to start the year,'' one neighbour said.
One person who knows the Currie Street family - which includes two young boys - said the husband had known the deceased ''quite well''.
''[He] had been a friend for a few years. [They were] two mates.''
The death left many residents of the small cul-de-sac shocked.
''It [the street] is extremely quiet … people keep to themselves,'' one neighbour said.
Inspector Hill said the dead man's family had been notified.
The 20-year-old was initially charged with using an offensive instrument with intent to commit an indictable offence, but was charged with murder on Thursday. He was refused bail to appear at Queanbeyan Local Court on Friday.
The arrest came only days after forensics teams left scenes related to two murders in Canberra.
Police are still hunting the killer of Nicholas Sofer-Schreiber, who was found dead with multiple stab wounds in his Hall Street unit in Lyneham on December 28.
Investigations are also continuing into the death of Miodrag Gajic, 71, who died after suffering significant head injuries in his Phillip unit on New Year's Day.
