James Alexander Rech has been refused bail for allegedly dismembering his housemate’s dog

HE was found covered in blood, holding the severed head of a dog in one hand and a meat cleaver in the other — but James Alexander Rech claims he was “in the wrong place at the wrong time”, a court has heard.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

HE was found covered in blood, holding the severed head of a dog in one hand and a meat cleaver in the other — but James Alexander Rech claims he was “in the wrong place at the wrong time”, a court has heard.

On Wednesday, the Adelaide Magistrates Court was told the dismemberment of a Staffordshire Terrier in a Hampstead Gardens home was a “bloodbath, “bizarre” and “gruesome”.

But Prosecutor Manfred Wojtasik also told the court that the dog’s owner — who goes by the name of Fry — has “disappeared without a trace”.

“One particular issue, while it’s speculative, is that police are yet to establish whether all of the blood has come from the dismembered animal or whether there may well be blood from a human being at the scene,” he said.

But James Alexander Rech, 19, denies killing his housemate’s dog about 1.30am on Tuesday and claims it was a threat over an alleged debt.

Stephen Ey, for Rech, told the court his client was “in the wrong place at the wrong time”.

Rech has been charged with killing his housemate’s dog, along with a count of property damage and carrying an offensive weapon.

The state’s chief magistrate, Judge Mary-Louise Hribal, refused to grant Rech bail because of the seriousness of the allegations.

Sergeant Wojtasik said the RSPCA attended at the house and had seized a number of body parts of the dog.

“This came to light through a member of the public saw the defendant in the middle of the roadway holding the severed head of the dog,” he said.

“Police located the defendant standing in the street covered in blood, holding the head of the Staffordshire Terrier in one hand, and a meat cleaver in the other.

“His clothing was covered in blood.

“He had dog bites on various locations on his body, he was conveyed to the Royal Adelaide Hospital where he was placed on a temporary detention order.

“But it was subsequently established there were no issues about his mental health and he was released and taken into custody by police.

He said investigating police had concerns that Rech’s housemate had not been found.

The two men lived together and the dog belonged to his housemate.

“There are particular concerns by the investigating police of the apparent disappearance without a trace of Fry, where he doesn’t seem to have accessed any money and friends don’t know where he is,” he said.

But police on Thursday said the missing man had been found safe and well.

But Mr Ey said that submission was speculation and asked that be disregarded by the court.

“The disturbance was the defendant coming home and finding this bloodbath,” he said.

“It was he who discovered the head and the cleaver on the bed and has come outside and it’s that which has attracted attention of others.

“The alleged bites that he had on him had come from a friend’s dog that he had been playing with a day or so before.”

Rech will be back before the court later this month.