The battering ram that killed an elderly couple had broken through an electric fence before the attack and must have come from a nearby farm, a local resident said.
Helge and Gaye Hansen, husband and wife, both in their eighties, were found dead on Thursday morning on their property on Anzac Valley Road in Waitakere, New Zealand, where they raised sheep, chickens and cattle.
It is unclear exactly where the ram was staying before it escaped.
A neighbor, who did not want to be identified but was not the owner of the animal, said that “everything has been” gloomy, gray and just plain depressing “since the attack.”
‘You just don’t want to do anything, you just don’t even want to get out of that side [where the couple was found]”said the neighbor The New Zealand Herald.
Helge and Gaye Hansen, husband and wife, both in their eighties, were found dead on Thursday morning at their property on Anzac Valley Road in Waitakere, New Zealand.
‘It’s disgusting. They were lovely people just enjoying their retirement. They were over 80 years old, he had knee problems and they didn’t have time to escape.
The victim’s son claimed that the pair likely would have died instantly because the impact of the animal’s horns was similar to being “hit by a sledgehammer at 80 miles per hour.”
Gaye’s son discovered the couple before being attacked by the aggressive animal.
He had gone to see his parents after not hearing from them for a couple of days.
The ram also attempted to attack police officers before he was shot dead.
Anthony, Helge’s son with his ex-wife Jan, said it was “very difficult for both of them to be eliminated… in such strange and crazy circumstances.”
He said his father was “very cautious around rams” because he used to run a sheep farm and was aware of how ferocious the animals could be during mating season.
Police are pictured carrying bags of evidence at the property where the retired couple died.
“It’s pretty brutal – their heads are designed to withstand impact, but it’s like a sledgehammer hitting you at 60 to 80 miles per hour,” Anthony said. Stuff.
Anthony said the family took comfort in the fact that their deaths would have been quick.
“He dedicated himself to what he loved to do and it was all over very quickly,” he said.
“That’s something that will give us a little more comfort: that Dad hasn’t suffered.”
Anthony’s mother, Jan Hansen, his father’s ex-wife, said she believed Helge went out to feed the animals while Gaye prepared dinner.
When he didn’t return, she believes Gaye went to investigate.
“That ram must have been waiting for her to walk through the door, I guess,” he told the website.
‘Don’t think that animals can’t think. A male animal in mating season can be quite cruel.
It comes as an animal behavior specialist has revealed that battering ram attacks leave victims with injuries similar to those suffered in a car crash.
Police are seen at the home of a couple who were killed by a ram on their property
Dr Lindsay Matthews, senior scientist at Matthews Research International, said attacks were rare, with only 11 reports of a human being killed by a ram recorded worldwide as of 2019.
But he said the animals, which can weigh up to 150kg, could attack unexpectedly and at high speed.
“Rams can hit other males very hard, then back up and charge at each other, hitting each other with cross force to the front of the head,” Dr Matthews said. RNZ.
He added: “Unless you keep an eye on them all the time, they can hit you suddenly.”
“The injuries reported resemble those of a car hit.”
The elderly couple’s death has been referred to the medical examiner.
A joint funeral will be held on Wednesday.