Police in New Zealand are investigating the death of a 33-year-old man whose naked body was found in a backyard in Hei Hei, west of Christchurch, New Zealand on Tuesday 11th April 2023.
Witnesses reported seeing the man’s body being mauled by three white dogs before police arrived on the scene.
Armed officers quickly secured the area and discovered the man’s body.
An autopsy has since been carried out, and Detective Senior Sergeant Colin Baillie released a statement on Thursday 13th April 2023 saying that the death was not being treated as suspicious. However, police are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the man’s death.
Several witnesses then came forward, stating that they saw the naked body and the dogs in the property’s backyard.
One man said that he yelled at the dogs to keep away from the body until the police arrived.
Police removed one of the dogs through the front of the property, while the remaining two were retrieved after police broke through a back fence.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) was called to the scene to assist police, but a spokesperson declined to provide any further comment, citing the ongoing police investigation.
A local resident stated that he had seen armed police at the property regularly and he believed that the property was associated with gangs.
Another resident reported seeing armed police at the same property just two weeks before.
The police had previously searched the same property in October 2018 after the fatal shooting of a King Cobras gang member, Luke Sears, also known as Luke Riddell.
