A 46-year-old woman has been charged with murder after a 10-year-old girl was reportedly found with her throat slashed in a Gold Coast home.

The “traumatic” discovery was made about 6pm on Tuesday in the upmarket Emerald Lakes Estate, in Carrara.

Police said a male relative who found the girl called emergency services and was co-operating with police.

The girl was unresponsive and declared dead at the scene. Multiple media outlets report that the child’s throat was slashed.

About four hours later, a 46-year-old woman known to the young victim was located. She was taken into custody about 10.25pm.

The street in the leafy “European-designed” estate was blocked off on Tuesday night and a gazebo erected as forensics officers entered the home in a unit complex.

On Wednesday morning, police said the woman had been arrested and charged with murder. She will appear in court on Wednesday.

Emerald Lakes Estate is an upmarket neighbourhood with a ‘European’ feel. Photo: Emerald Lakes Estate website

On Tuesday night, Inspector Lou Serafim said the girl’s death was being treated as suspicious and an investigation was underway.

She said the child lived at the address where her body was found.

“At approximately six o’clock this evening police received a triple-0 emergency call in relation to a 10-year-old girl who was located deceased in a unit,” she said.

“At this point in time we are treating the death of the 10-year-old girl as suspicious, and investigations are currently under way in relation to the demise of the girl.

“The triple-0 call was made by a relative who was at the incident scene when they located the 10-year-old girl.”

The dead girl was found in a home on Central Place. Photo: Google maps

Serafim said people at the property were co-operating with police. They included the male relative who was assisting with the investigation.

“We’ve had nothing but co-operation from the people here and also the residents of the unit complex,” she said.

Serafim said the grim discovery was confronting for those who were first on scene.

“My staff who attended as first responders and also the emergency services from the Queensland Ambulance Service have entered a scene that is quite traumatic, and these officers and the paramedics are receiving internal counselling in relation to the incident that they were exposed to,” she said.

Emerald Lakes is billed as a European-designed estate that has “the luxury of feeling like you are living in Europe, while being only a short distance to beaches and Surfers Paradise”.

The mix of houses, townhouses, villas and duplexes is perched on a lake and has access to an 18-hole golf course, as well as shops and restaurants.