Son charged with murdering parents

A 37-year-old South Australian man has been charged with murdering his parents, with one of the violent deaths unfolding in a front yard in front of shocked witnesses.

Detectives are still searching for an "edged object" suspected of being used in the attack on the couple, whose bodies were found in separate locations.

Police were called to a two-storey home in the waterfront town of Encounter Bay, south of Adelaide, just before 1.30pm yesterday after neighbours reported seeing two men fighting in the front yard.

When officers arrived, they found the adult son sitting on the lawn of the property and the body of his 73-year-old father lying on the verandah.

"It is a grisly situation. Nobody would like to come across this," Inspector Gus Sickerdick told reporters.

"Unfortunately it has happened and we have got victims who have actually witnessed this and we are talking to them at this stage."

Police arrested the son at the scene, who then led them to the body of his 66-year-old mother lying in scrub at a nature reserve about 800m away.

Officers were searching the area for a murder weapon but would not disclose exactly what kind of weapon was used or what type of injuries the victims sustained.

The arrested man, who is believed to have two sisters, was seen buying a takeaway coffee at nearby cafe only hours before the alleged murders.

Last night he was charged with two counts of murder and refused bail.

He will appear in court today.

Sources: ABC, The Advertiser.