Dunedin unexplained death: Body of reclusive man Peter Robb undiscovered for months

The death of a Dunedin man known for his reclusive nature who once made international headlines for his misguided pursuits at love, remains unexplained one week on.

The body of Peter Alexander Robb, 69, was found at his Garfield Avenue home in the Dunedin suburb of Roslyn last Tuesday.

Police were continuing to investigate his death and on Tuesday, a spokesperson confirmed there were no updates and that the death was still being treated as unexplained.

They said earlier that initial indications suggested the person may have been at the scene for some time.

Neighbours of Robb told the Herald about his reclusive and odd nature.

One neighbour said they occasionally saw Robb riding his bike in the area, though not for about a year.

Others had not seen him in the six months they had lived in the area and assumed the home was abandoned.

Robb's Garfield Avenue property was overgrown, a path had been cut around the edge of his impassable yard that was littered with dozens of old bikes, with broken furniture strewn throughout.

A broken-down 1985 Honda City sat in the driveway.

In 2009, Robb made international headlines when he lured a German woman to his home, resulting in a raid by the Armed Offenders Squad.

The woman, who did not want to be named, told the Herald that Robb portrayed himself as a representative of the University of Otago, offering her a position there.

She said the situation had been misrepresented as a love story by the media at the time.

"With its app [sic] reporting and misrepresentation, it played into the hands of this simply psychopathic person," she said.

"Since Peter Robb was working precisely to portray me as his lover and did everything he could to do so, it played into the hands of the public."

The woman contacted a man she had met on the flight to New Zealand for help, who in turn contacted police.

As Robb had previously had firearms confiscated by police, an armed raid was conducted and the woman was removed from the property.

The woman told the Herald she was "not surprised" at the news of Robb's death.

"I don't have very many emotions about this person. You could say he was a poor and very lost spirit with psychopathic tendencies," she said.

In a 2009 interview with stock photo website Stockvault, Robb referenced this interaction with the woman and police.

"I consented to put up a German woman ... for a holiday and my house was raided by the Armed Offenders Squad, she was abducted by the police and humiliated me in the local newspaper.

"I never saw her again. So I don't think I will be doing any more entertaining. Now I am called Internet Romeo or Horror House Romeo."

It was not the first time Robb's behaviour towards women had led to police involvement, as the Otago Daily Times revealed in 2009 he had also been charged with criminally harassing a Brazilian student the year before.

Elsewhere in his interview with Stockvault, Robb said he was born in Dunedin and had lived there all his life.

He came from a fourth-generation Dunedin family and was a student with two degrees, a BA and a BCApSc (Bachelor of Consumer Food Science), he wrote.

He described himself as an opportunist amateur photographer, "but I plan some shoots".

"I enjoy working with models."

Robb's LinkedIn profile lists many of his personal and artistic achievements, including his life membership of the Dunedin Poultry Club.

It also details the multiple places he has been banned, trespassed, and denied entry from in Dunedin, including Otago Polytechnic "for being over-enthusiastic", the University of Otago, Aoraki Polytechnic, Otago University Students Association "for using a microwave for cooking [with permission]", and the Hocken Library "due to body odour [I am a cyclist]".

- This story was originally published by the New Zealand Herald.