Thieves steal dead man's freezer

File photo / Martin Sykes

Thieves have stolen a car and a freezer from a Taranaki man just hours after he died.

A friend discovered the 47-year-old man's body at his Waitara house on Friday night and left in shock, the Taranaki Daily News reported.

He returned just 30 minutes later and found the deceased's car had been stolen. On Saturday morning it was found alight at a nearby yacht club.

Detective Sergeant Brent Matuku said the family were allowed back into the house on Saturday evening after police had completed the scene examination.

The family cleaned the house and had it blessed before locking it up.

"The house was empty overnight and some time on Saturday night an offender has gone into the laundry and taken a freezer," he said.

"It's despicable. It creates more unanswered questions for the family that they just don't need at this time."

Police are not treating the death as suspicious.

- NZPA