Actor's dogs 'kill his caretaker'

The 40-year-old victim, who lived on the property and worked as a caretaker, has not been named.

He was found dead on the front lawn of Rhames' gated Los Angeles home covered in dog bites, a police spokesman said.

Three Bull Mastiffs and an English bulldog were taken away by animal services following the discovery.

"Two of those dogs appeared to be responsible for the tragic death," said police officer Jason Lee, adding that "several" dogs remained at the property.

Autopsy

Police were alerted to the incident by a phone call early on Friday morning by someone reporting a dead body at Rhames' house.

"It appeared that the person suffered a number of injuries as a result of the dog mauling," said Sergeant Lee Sands.

"There were numerous dog bites all over his body, but the exact cause of death is pending the coroner's ruling."

An autopsy is expected to be performed Monday, said Captain Ed Winter of the Los Angeles coroner's office.

"It's premature to say how he died," said Winter. "We don't know if he was attacked by the dogs and suffered a heart attack."

It is thought that the victim's responsibilities included taking care of the animals.

Representatives for Rhames said he was not in the country at the time of the incident.

The 46-year-old actor is best-known for starring alongside Tom Cruise in all three Mission: Impossible films.

He also appeared as Marsellus Wallace in Pulp Fiction, and received Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for playing boxing promoter Don King in a 1997 TV movie.

The actor told Time magazine in 2001 that he had "eight Fila Brasileiro mastiffs - the national dog of Brazil, also used by US Marines in jungle warfare."