NZ Police Solve Baffling Double Murder in Less Than a Day

When police were called to a rural property in West Auckland’s Waitākere ranges, they found two elderly people dead.

The incident had been reported just after 7:30 a.m. by the victims’ son, who had gone to the property after he hadn’t heard from them for a couple of days. St John Ambulance was also notified of the incident and responded with two ambulances and two rapid response vehicles.

The couple’s bodies were discovered in a paddock adjacent to their two-storey house on their hobby farm in Anzac Valley Rd, where they kept sheep, cattle, and chickens. They were both in their early 80s, retired, and had lived at the property for eight years.

A neighbour told local media that he had heard two loud bangs early in the morning.

Initially, police said they were making enquiries about the two sudden deaths, with a scene examination underway, and the circumstances of the deaths were unexplained.

But very quickly, they apprehended the culprit—and executed him.

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The deaths were the work of a ram that had been in the paddock where the bodies were discovered. He was shot by police.

Police believe the man went out to the paddock containing the ram and did not return. His wife later went out to check on him.

A neighbour said the man who had been killed had been farming all his life and was a “very good stockman,” so it came as a surprise to hear a ram may have killed the couple.

When police had completed a scene examination, they covered the bodies in plastic before carrying them off in body bags. It’s not known what became of the body of the ram.

Family member Dean Burrell said, “I feel like I was dreaming it. It was a bit of a shock being told what had happened and I just didn’t believe it, so I’ve come down here to support my cousins and the wider family.”

A spokesperson said the family were in shock and requested for privacy at this time.