KEY POINTS:
The bloodied body of a man found dead outside his Nelson home on Sunday will be removed this afternoon, Nelson police said.
The 62-year-old man was found by a neighbour about 10am on Sunday morning.
He was lying, covered in blood, face up on the concrete at the front of his Nile St property. A window at the front door near where he lay was broken.
Detective Sergeant Mark Kaveney, of Nelson, said police were treating the death as suspicious due to the nature of the man's injuries.
He would not elaborate on what the injuries were until a post mortem had been done.
Police sealed off the scene while a forensic examination was conducted, but Mr Kaveney said this was nearly complete and it was expected the man's body would be removed later this afternoon.
A post mortem examination would be done tomorrow.
He said police had not yet contacted next of kin, and the man's name would not be released until he had been formally identified.
Police were still keen to hear from anyone who saw or heard anything out of the ordinary in the area on Saturday night or Sunday morning.
Neighbours spoken to by the Nelson Mail described the dead man as a recluse.
Nile St resident Jock Howie, who found the body while he was looking for his cat on Sunday, raced to tell his wife to call an ambulance before going back outside and realising the man was dead.
Mr Howie had lived next door to the man for about a year and knew him as Terry.
He said the man kept to himself and often kept his curtains drawn. He lived alone and seemed "pretty frail and vulnerable".
Another neighbour, who did not want to be named, said the man was "completely reclusive".
He had not noticed anything out of the ordinary at the property on Saturday night or Sunday morning.
"I'm a very light sleeper and I heard nothing."
- NZPA
