--- title: New Zealand College Student's Body Discovered in Dorm Room Two Months After Death description: The student's body was discovered in a dorm room at the University of Canterbury, located in Christchurch, New Zealand. canonical: https://time.com/5686943/new-zealand-student-dead-months-dorm/ author: Gina Martinez article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-09-26T16:53:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T07:27:03.867Z article:section: World og:title: New Zealand College Student's Body Discovered in Dorm Room 2 Months After Death og:description: New Zealand police have not yet confirmed the student's cause of death og:url: https://time.com/5686943/new-zealand-student-dead-months-dorm/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc677d0cc57e27661/6989fefb8fd2ee10bc35faed/police-line-tape.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Accident or crime scene cordon tape og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: New Zealand College Student's Body Discovered in Dorm Room 2 Months After Death twitter:description: New Zealand police have not yet confirmed the student's cause of death twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc677d0cc57e27661/6989fefb8fd2ee10bc35faed/police-line-tape.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # New Zealand College Student's Body Discovered in Dorm Room Nearly 2 Months After Death by [Gina Martinez](/author/gina-martinez/) ## Gina Martinez Sep 26, 2019 4:53 PM CUT  Accident or crime scene cordon tape, police line do not cross. It is nighttime, emergency lights of police cars flashing blue, red and white in the background Accident or crime scene cordon tape, police line do not cross. It is nighttime, emergency lights of police cars flashing blue, red and white in the backgroundGetty Images by [Gina Martinez](/author/gina-martinez/) ## Gina Martinez Sep 26, 2019 4:53 PM CUT A [New Zealand](https://time.com/5653818/australian-tourist-dead-new-zealand-manhunt/ "undefined") college student’s body was discovered in his dorm room almost two months after he died, officials at the University of Canterbury confirmed. New Zealand news organization [Stuff](https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/116071426/students-body-went-unnoticed-in-university-hall-for-close-to-8-weeks "undefined") reported that the student’s step-father contacted the university when he could not get in contact with his son and that the unidentified 19-year-old was discovered on Monday night after students at the Sonoda Christchurch Campus dorm complained of a smell. The university’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Cheryl de la Rey offered [her condolences](https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/news/2019/statement-from-vice-chancellor.html "undefined") in a statement on the school’s website, calling the circumstances “inconceivable.” The Vice-chancellor said the university will commission an independent investigation to determine how the student was missing for so long without being noticed and what actions need to be taken to ensure it doesn’t happen again. “We are devastated by what has happened and extend our deepest sympathy to the family,” she said. “This is an extremely distressing time for University students and staff. The University of Canterbury is doing everything it can to support the Police investigation into the tragic death of a New Zealand student in the Sonoda student accommodation.” de la Rey said the students body is currently being handled by the coroner’s office. Authorities have not yet confirmed a cause of death. New Zealand Education Minister told the [Associated _Press_](https://www.apnews.com/cb01b00c5e194911b236ed5aa10dc79f "undefined") that he is “really concerned about this case,” and that there will be thorough investigations. “If you’re going into a hall of residence or a hostel, you are paying top dollar for not just a roof over your head but also the pastoral care that goes with that,” he said. “And I think clearly that’s not been present in this case.” New Zealand’s second-oldest university, the University of Canterbury is located in Christchurch and has over 17,000 students. The dorm was run by the Australia-based student accommodation provider [Campus Living Village](https://www.campuslivingvillages.com/ "undefined"), which also houses students in the U.K. and the United States. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5686943/new-zealand-student-dead-months-dorm/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5686943/new-zealand-student-dead-months-dorm/"},"headline":"New Zealand College Student's Body Discovered in Dorm Room Nearly 2 Months After Death","datePublished":"2019-09-26T16:53:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T07:27:03.867Z","description":"The student's body was discovered in a dorm room at the University of Canterbury, located in Christchurch, New Zealand","url":"https://time.com/5686943/new-zealand-student-dead-months-dorm/","keywords":["New Zealand","Education","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc677d0cc57e27661/6989fefb8fd2ee10bc35faed/police-line-tape.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Gina Martinez","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/gina-martinez/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc677d0cc57e27661/6989fefb8fd2ee10bc35faed/police-line-tape.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Accident or crime scene cordon tape","caption":"Accident or crime scene cordon tape","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/new-zealand/","name":"New Zealand"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5686943/new-zealand-student-dead-months-dorm/","name":"New Zealand College Student's Body Discovered in Dorm Room Nearly 2 Months After Death"}}]}] ```