Elderly woman found dead in Hamilton flat

Police are investigating after the sudden death of an elderly woman. Photo / NZ Herald

The sudden death of a Hamilton woman is being investigated by police after she was found in her flat by neighbours.

Police were called to a block of flats on Lake Rd at 7pm on Wednesday where neighbours had discovered the body of a woman.

Hamilton CIB Detective Senior Sergeant Karl Thornton said the officer who initially attended the scene determined there was "sufficient cause for concern" to secure the flat and await the arrival of a forensic team.

Police cordoned off the downstairs unit and interviewed neighbours in the surrounding flats and houses.

Police confirmed the dead woman was in her 60s but would not say if she had sustained any non-accidental injuries or whether a weapon was being sought.

One neighbour said he heard the incident was a stabbing.

Another neighbour, who did not want to be named, said she had felt unsafe in her home since she was burgled last year.

The woman said after a neighbouring house was raided by police several months ago she decided to find somewhere else to live.

She said most of the tenants of the 1970s flats, which were near the intersection with Queens Ave, were young or older men and she often felt intimidated walking past them.

At least one former tenant, who left about a month ago, lived there through Richmond New Zealand, a trust which provides community-based mental health support services.

The landlord of the property said he did not know the dead woman well.

"I only knew her to say gidday to. She was a nice lady. I used to talk to her now and again if she was outside having a smoke."

The Hamilton man had owned the block of 10 units for about 15 years and it was managed by Ray White Rentals. A property manager confirmed the tenant had lived at the flat since November 2007.

She lived alone but is understood to have a sister in Hamilton and two adult children in Australia.

A snapshot of the Frankton neighbourhood by Quotable Value showed a transient area of largely rental properties, predominantly low income and with most residents in their 20s.

Mr Thornton said the incident was being treated as a sudden death.

An autopsy would be done in Auckland today.