The first picture of a murder victim whose body was found on fire on a south London street has been released by police.
Officers were called to Commonside East in Mitcham at 6.12am on Thursday, September 17, to reports of a “man on fire”, the Metropolitan Police said. When police arrived at the scene, they found the body of a man who they declared dead at the scene.
Murder detectives have now identified the man as 23-year-old Loeike Guei, who lived in Thornton Heath.
His death is being treated as “suspicious”, police said, as homicide detectives continue to investigate how the 23-year-old died, a post-mortem examination gave the preliminary cause of death as a head injury.
Metropolitan Police said no arrests have been made and a crime scene remains in place as the Specialist Crime Command investigates.
Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Jolley, who is leading the investigation, said: “Loeike’s family have been intensely shocked by the loss of their loved one and are at the very beginning of coming to terms with their grief.”
He added: “We are in the initial stages of our investigation and are keeping an open mind with regards any motive. We are making good progress, following a number of leads and have spoken to a number of people already.
“What I need now is for anyone who has not spoken to us yet but have seen any suspicious activity or vehicles in the vicinity to make contact with us immediately.
“You may have information that may seem insignificant but could prove crucial to our investigation.”
“I urge you to contact us immediately, or tell us what you know via Crimestoppers if you wish. What matters most is that you make the call. Loeike’s family are traumatised and we need the support of the public in bringing them justice.”
Tania Marszalek, 39, who lives on the road where the body was found, told the Sun: ‘My dogs woke me up at around 6am.
‘I was annoyed they had woken me up before my alarm and I checked outside to see what was going on – I saw a police officer tying a red tape cordon to the wing mirror of my car.
‘I immediately wanted to know what was going on and I asked the officers who didn’t tell me much at all.
‘There are people on the street who are saying a guy was found at the end of the road on fire after being mutilated, he was still alive when he was found.’
Source: Lucky B.