Police say Westport man was devoured by his starving dog
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.
