A husband returned home to find his son’s dog eating his wife’s body after killing her.
The 66-year-old husband returned to his Long Island home in Nassau County, New York, to find his wife Marina Verriest, 70, dead, with the pit bull feasting on her body.
The incident happened at around 1pm on Wednesday, July 27.
The horrified man called the police, and when the first officer on the scene entered the family home the seven-year-old dog charged at him – forcing the officer to draw their weapon and fire, killing the dog.
“The scene was pretty horrific. We don’t know what time the attack took place but there was obviously a lot of mutilation on the body and the arm, the face, the legs,” Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said at a press conference.
He added that the police officer who shot the dog was now being offered counselling to help cope with the psychological effects of what they had seen: “The officer saw something that was very traumatic,” Commissioner Ryder said. “We take care of our officers and make sure they’re OK.”
It later emerged that while the dog had lived in the couple’s home for many years, it was owned by their stepson who had died in a motorcycle accident a few weeks before.