Westport man devoured by starving dog

Published: 8:56AM Saturday December 05, 2009

Westport police investigating the discovery of a decomposing body at a bush campsite were shocked to find most of the body had been devoured by a dog, a coroner's inquest in Greymouth has heard.

Regional coroner Richard McElrea said yesterday he would have dealt with the case in the privacy of his chambers but Douglas Arllington, a brother of the dead man, had concerns that warranted a public airing.

The remains of Charles Harold Arllington, 53, of Westport, were found on August 22 last year.

A reclusive man, Arllington had been living in a tent amid dense bush bordering a farm on Nine Mile Road, about eight minutes' drive from the Westport Post Office.

When a farmhand, Joshua McDonald, got sick of Arllington's dog scavenging near the house he went to the campsite to remonstrate with him - and instead discovered a collapsed tent and the remains of a body.

Detective John Cunneen said little but the torso and head remained of the man, and marks on the body were consistent with a dog having gnawed on it, the Greymouth Star reported.

Arllington's dog Mojo had previously been chained up at the campsite.

Constable Denis Bergman, the first policeman on the scene, ascertained the identity of the dead man from medical appointment slips and a photograph found in a nearby vehicle. The photograph of a man and a woman was shown to Arllington's daughter, who confirmed it was of her and her father.

The daughter said her father did not like people and preferred his own company. He had not looked well but was not one to let on if he had health concerns.

Cunneen and detective sergeant Andy Oliver, of the West Coast police CIB, ruled that the death was not suspicious and left it to the uniformed branch to carry out the routine duties, such as taking control of the possessions and informing relatives.

However, in the Coroner's Court yesterday, Douglas Arllington decried the CIB investigation as "inadequate".

On a visit to the campsite in early September 2008, he picked up a femur bone - which later proved to have come from his brother - close to the site; 20m upstream he came across a gold mining site complete with sluice and settling pond that police did not know existed.

He alleged the police had rushed to an assumption of "natural causes" without asking family members whether his brother had any known enemies or had been murdered for his gold.

Police had acted on "hunches and assumptions", Douglas Arllington said.

This was rebutted by Oliver, and the coroner said he was "satisfied appropriate judgment had been executed" by the CIB.

However, the coroner McElrea said it was unfortunate a more thorough search of the area had not been carried out.

"It was fortunate Mr Douglas Arllington found the bone, but unfortunate that it was he who found it."

Forensic pathologist Martin Sage estimated that Arllington had died of "unascertained causes" two to three weeks before his body was discovered.

Dr Sage said it was impossible to totally rule out foul play but he did not think that was the case.

He said the discovery of scattered remains was uncommon in New Zealand but many of his colleagues who had worked in countries with coyotes, dingoes and jackals had seen similar cases.

However, most New Zealand cases of pets feeding on their masters occurred when the animals had been locked in the same room as the deceased person.

McElrea found that Charles Arllington died between July 22 and August 8 of unascertained causes.

The court did not hear what breed of dog Mojo was or what had become of him since the gruesome discovery.