Wellington man died alone, lay dead for days

Colin George Rutherford lay dead in his home for days before neighbours called police. Photo/ Facebook

An elderly man who died alone in his Wellington home could have been dead for days before neighbours called police.

Colin George Rutherford, aged in his 70s, was found dead in his Housing New Zealand property on Birdwood Rd in Lower Hutt on November 24.

He is one of six men who have died and not been discovered for some time, in the Wellington region since 2009.

Rutherford's neighbour of 25 years, Mary Thompson, said she sensed something was wrong when she did not see him for about three days.

"He would shower at the same time every day and then put his washing on the line.

"But I didn't see that washing on the line for three days."

The pair used to chat over the fence often, said Thompson.

"He was a dear old man. We called him the neighbourhood watch...whenever I went out he would ask what I was doing."

Rutherford hailed from England and was a chef in his heyday.

Thompson said the man had one surviving brother in England, but was never married and had no children.

In September 2013, he shared his desire to find "a loving friend view partner if compatible" on Facebook.

Thompson said she was not aware of any funeral plans as nobody had contacted her. She has been collecting Rutherford's mail since his death.

Wellington men whose deaths went unnoticed:
• Jim Grant: The 78-year-old man died alone in his Wellington apartment, near Parliament, earlier this year. His body was found by police months later. It is believed Grant, whose mother died when he was just 12, was an orphan and a bachelor.
• Michael Clarke: Clarke, 88, lay dead in his Wellington council flat for more than a year without anyone noticing. His body was found by council workers preparing to demolish his apartment block, in 2011.
• Wiremu Whakaue: The chiefly descendant of a Te Arawa hapu died in his one-bedroom Wellington council flat in 2009, but his body was not discovered until March 2010.
• Dean Stewart: The 63-year-old was found dead in his Adelaide Rd flat last year.
• Robert Scally: Neighbours were alerted that something was wrong because of an unusual smell and swarm of flies outside Scally's Housing New Zealand flat in a set of apartments in Dixon St. The 78-year-old man may have died long before his body was discovered.