Ram believed responsible for deaths of elderly New Zealand couple

An aggressive ram believed responsible for the deaths of an elderly New Zealand couple has been put down by police after it was found alongside the two bodies in a paddock.

The couple’s son, who was prompted to look for the pair after failing to hear from them in days, reportedly found their bodies, contacting police.

Dean Burrell, the nephew of one of the dead and their family’s spokesperson, told news outlet Stuff the couple had “both lost their lives in a tragic accident”.

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Police are investigating the deaths on behalf of the coroner, “to establish the full set of circumstances around what occurred in the paddock”, and a postmortem examination will be carried out on Friday.

St John medics attended the property with two ambulances early on Thursday, with a police presence through the day.