Dog leads owner to man bashed in park attack

Gary McNelly, with his dogs Alice (left), Tui and Jeff, found the teenager in a bloody and almost comatose state. Photo / Richard Robinson

A man who was out walking his dogs says one of the pets led him to a severely injured teenager who had been attacked in a West Auckland park with his girlfriend.

Police yesterday spoke to the injured man, aged 19, and his 17-year-old partner, but they are unable to remember what happened early on Sunday morning because of their injuries.

Police do not know who was responsible or what, if any, motive was behind the attack.

Gary McNelly and his wife Claudine were walking their three dogs - Alice, Tui and Jeff - in Starling Park, Ranui about 7am on Sunday when Alice's ears pricked up and she began growling.

"We looked in the direction she was looking and there's this body," Mr McNelly said. "He was on all fours, it was almost like he was praying, kissing the ground."

At that stage, Mr McNelly did not know the man was hurt as he couldn't see his face and it was dark.

Not knowing what state the teenager was in, Mrs McNelly's wife backed away with the dogs while her husband approached him.

"I said 'Hey mate, do you want to get moving because you might get hypothermia like this'. He just had a polo top on," Mr McNelly said.

"He was incoherent. I helped him up and he took two stumbling steps and then fell."

Once the man got up, Mr McNelly could see blood coming from his ears and smeared on his face and jeans.

Mr McNelly, a former British soldier, laid him down in the recovery position, put his sweater around him and phoned 111.

He stayed on the phone talking to the ambulance operator until help arrived while noting the teenager's breathing and asking him questions to try to keep him from going into a coma.

Slipping in and out of consciousness, the man managed to say his name was "Nathaniel" and give his address.

Mrs McNelly waited at the public toilets to wave down the ambulance.

While emergency services were dealing with the man, his girlfriend arrived on the back doorstep of a nearby house asking for help.

The occupant of the house said the woman appeared to be disoriented and kept asking to go home.

The man was taken to Auckland Hospital with a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain.

The woman, who had multiple facial fractures and severe bruising, was in Middlemore Hospital.

They had been moved out of intensive care but were being kept under close observation. Their condition was described as critical but stable.

Police said yesterday the pair left their home in Massey at about 8pm on Saturday.

Neighbours reported hearing screams for help, moaning and sobbing in a park about 1.30am on Sunday but either did not see anything or did not investigate.

"Both victims have horrific injuries and it will be several days before investigators are able to determine the full circumstances of the incident," police spokesman Kevin Loughlin said.

Anyone with any information should call Detective Sergeant Roger Small at the Waitakere CIB on (09) 839-0653, or phone Crime Stoppers anonymously on (0800) 555-111.