A payment dispute over renovation work preceded the alleged murder of a 73-year-old woman in Townsville, police allege.
Mark Daniel Ferguson has been charged with the murder of Pamela Frances Corless who was found in her Cranbrook home on Monday.
The 21-year-old north Queensland man is also facing charges of burglary and wilful damage.
Police allege he had been doing renovation work on the elderly woman's Brampton Avenue home.
"We will further allege that there was a dispute over that work and the payment for that work, which ultimately led to Ms Corless' death," Detective Acting Inspector Phil Watts said.
"She had only moved three weeks ago to be closer to family and it's tragic for the family that this has occurred," he said.
Police would not speculate on whether any weapons had been used, but indicated Mrs Corless had sustained serious head injuries.
Detective Acting Inspector Watts said information from family members and forensic evidence led police to arrest the Mr Ferguson yesterday afternoon.
"My understanding is that he has recently moved here from Ipswich so he is not a Townsville local," he said.
This is the third alleged murder involving an elderly woman in her home in Townsville in two years.
"We understand that this is very distressing for the community. We would like to re-iterate that elderly people are no more likely to be victims of a crime than the rest of the community," Inspector Damien Crosby said.
A crime scene is expected to remain in place for a number of days.
Mr Ferguson appeared before the Townsville Magistrates Court on Wednesday where he was remanded in custody until his next court appearance in March 2019.
