Police investigating the weekend murder of a man in a central Hamilton street believe tracing the movement of the victim's car is a crucial part in their inquiry.
Homicide inquiry head, Detective Inspector Lance Burdett of the Waikato CIB, said Police believe they have identified the victim who was found by a street cleaner lying outside a building on London St about 6am Sunday.
"We believe the victim to be 74-year-old Wellington man Donald Alfred STEWART. A post-mortem completed yesterday revealed Mr STEWART died as a result of a blow to the head.
"The inquiry team is currently working to establish how Mr STEWART came to be in our City over the weekend, his family have been notified of his death and are understandably upset at the news."
Locating Mr STEWART'S car, a white 1989 Peugeot 405 GRI sedan, registration number OH8316, was also a major breakthrough in the investigation.
The car was recovered in an Auckland scrap yard late yesterday afternoon.
"This vehicle is similar to one reported as having crashed into a drain on Collins Rd Sunday morning however we were unable to confirm this because when investigators to follow up on these reports the car had been removed.
Mr Burdett said Police tracing the car's movements between midnight Saturday and yesterday afternoon was a key focus for the inquiry team.
"We're appealing for any sightings of the Peugeot, the last confirmed sighting of the car was of it being refuelled at the Gull service station on Norton Rd about 8.50pm Saturday night.
"To allow closure for Mr STEWART'S family we need to bring this inquiry to a timely and successful conclusion. You may hold information crucial to the case and if you do we ask you contact the inquiry team at the Hamilton Central Police Station on 07 858 6200."
Mr Burdett said there may be some people privy to information that are not in a position to speak to Police directly, in that case the Crimestoppers website, www.crimestoppers-nz.org or the confidential crimeline, 0800 555111 allows people to leave information anonymously.
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