A Bunbury woman has been arrested and charged after Tasmanian Police discovered the body of a 71-year-old South Launceston woman.
Western Australian police arrested the 46-year-old woman at a Bunbury hotel on Thursday night, November 7, with four Launceston detectives flying to WA to apply for an extradition order and facilitate the return of the woman.
Police said they went to check on Veronica Corstorphine after a friend lodged a concern for welfare because she hadn't been seen for a month.
Officers found her body on a bed at her Keane Street home on October 29, with a week-long investigation by Tasmania Police revealing the woman was allegedly murdered on October 3.
The two women had lived together at the South Launceston house for about two months, but the 46-year-old woman returned to Western Australia on October 5.
Tasmania Police Detective Inspector Kim Steven said the significant length of time between the woman's death and her body being discovered was obviously a complicating factor.
"While we have charged someone, we are still in the early stages of gathering evidence and interviews and so we can't confirm publicly at this stage how she died," he said.
The woman is expected to appear in a Perth Court today.
Detective Inspector Steven said all deaths were treated as suspicious until police know otherwise.
"We have been working over the last week to establish exactly what took place - those investigations have led us to the suspicion of murder," he said.