Warning: This article contains details which may disturb some people.
A man has been arrested following a police investigation into a tragic dog attack in Hamilton earlier this year that left a newborn baby dead.
A 21-year-old has been taken into custody over the October 25 incident on Masefield Dr, Enderley, charged with owning a dog that causes serious injury or death to a person.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of three years' prison or a fine of $20,000 under Section 58 of the Dog Control Act 1996.
He is scheduled to appear in the Hamilton District Court on Friday afternoon.
The incident occurred when the baby's mother had gone to the bathroom. It's understood the dog, believed to be a rottweiler, snatched the infant, dragged it outside and attempted to bury it.
The baby was just one-day-old at the time of the attack, and the mother was still wearing her hospital band.
The newborn was rushed to Waikato Hospital in a critical condition, but tragically died overnight.
Brothers Takilesi and Junior Afamasaga were the first to arrive at the scene after hearing the mother's cries for help. But nothing prepared them for what they saw.
"We heard little whimpers of calling for help," Takilesi said.
"[The mother] was just trying to keep the baby awake, trying to keep it crying... She asked me for a cloth, so I just took off my hoodie and gave it straight to her.
"I feel like the dog just mistook the baby for a toy and just went about playing around, not knowing it was a newborn child."
As the matter is now before the court, police say they have no further comment to make on the incident.
