Pair found dead at Te Atatu house

A woman whose body was discovered in an Auckland house last night had recently ended a relationship with a man found dead on the property.

When police arrived at the Te Atatu house about 5.30pm they found the dead woman, aged in her 40s, in a bedroom, and the body of a man inside a vehicle parked in the garage.

Neighbour Seth Heremia said the couple had split up.

"He would sit in his lounge and play country and western all day every day. That stopped in the last couple of months when his wife left him.

" He seemed pretty depressed. He was quite a cranky character."

The events yesterday followed the arrival of a man in a green BMW at the house. Witnesses said the man went inside - and appeared not to come back out.

Heremia said the couple had little to do with their neighbours. The few conversations they had were when the man complained about Heremia's dog.

"He was hurling abuse. He said 'keep the dog inside or I'll come out and whack it'."

A neighbour said: "I've lived here nine years and when I heard what happened I wasn't surprised. He's a strange one."

Another neighbour said the mother of the dead woman had been seen grieving outside the property last night. Police placed a guard at the property overnight to protect the scene for forensic examination.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY