Family say Auckland woman's heart attack triggered by burglars

Forensic investigator working at a crime scene
Photo credit: Getty

The family of an elderly Auckland woman who died yesterday believe it could be from a heart attack triggered by burglars.

A family member went into the St Georges Rd home in Avondale just before 4pm on Tuesday to find the woman dead on the floor and signs of the house being ransacked, NZME reports.

Police are treating the house as a crime scene and it has been cordoned off.

"Police believe there had been a burglary at the address, however we are still treating the death as unexplained," Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Franich told NZME.

"We have no evidence at this point to link the burglary and death of this woman, however we are keeping an open mind as our investigation progresses.

"We are carrying out a thorough investigation and will know more once a post-mortem [examination] has been carried out in the following days."

A neighbour told NZME the elderly woman was frail and wasn't able to move around well. He said he had spoken to a family member after the body was found.

"He said somebody broke into the house and his mother had a heart attack and passed away."

Newshub.