Police have charged a 69-year-old Bundaberg man with the cold case murder of a man found bashed and stabbed to death in his Brisbane hotel room more than 40 years ago.
Rex Kable Keen, from Bowen in North Queensland, visited the city in August 1976 for a medical appointment.
Detective Inspector Damien Hansen from the Homicide Group said the 46-year-old had been drinking with the accused at the Carlton Crest Hotel the night he died.
"They left the Carlton Crest and returned to Mr Keen's room at Lennon's Hotel," Mr Hansen said.
"About 10:30pm there was a call for room service and the staff attended Mr Keen's room and saw him there with another male person.
"Shortly after that, other residents at the hotel heard a disturbance."
Mr Keen's bloodied body was discovered by cleaners the following morning.
Police allege the pair did not know each other before that evening and say despite an extensive investigation at the time, officers could not find the man responsible.
"There was a lot of things there that we do in contemporary investigations that weren't available back then by the way of CCTV and a lot of ways that we would locate that person today but it certainly wasn't available in 1976," Mr Hansen said.
Advances in forensics enable breakthrough
Detective Inspector Hansen said the accused was not interviewed until recently as part of an 18-month review of the cold case.
"A complete forensic review was conducted … there have been advances in forensics that weren't available in 1976," Mr Hansen said.
"The investigators have re-approached all witnesses and some vital information has come forward.
"They gave us more information than what they had given previous investigators.
"[For] some people, it just doesn't come out at the time, and I think things weigh on people's minds over the years."
Police said Mr Keen's family members were notified of the arrest.
"They would be going through a lot of emotion at the moment," Mr Hansen said.
Authorities would not comment on an alleged motive or weapon used.
There have been no applications from members of the public for a $250,000 reward offered by police.
The 69-year-old man has been charged with one count of murder and is due to face the Bundaberg Magistrates Court tomorrow.
