The suspicious deaths of two people on the Gold Coast are being treated as a murder-suicide, police say.

The building manager of the unit block found the body of the 53-year-old man yesterday morning.

When police arrived, they later discovered the body of a woman in a furniture chest in the unit, prompting a crime scene to be declared.

It is believe she had died at least a week ago.

Gold Coast District Detective Inspector Chris Ahearn said the pair had been in a relationship for 10 years.

“We believe she’s been murdered at this stage. There’s some suggestion to point toward that,” he said.

“There is no domestic violence orders in place.

“There is some suggestion that the male person was also the woman’s carer.

“One of the lines of our investigation is into the medical condition of the female person prior to her tragic death.”

-more to come