Police investigating the brutal death of a Dunedin man at a popular suburban lookout point are now treating it as a homicide.
Detective Senior Sergeant Nik Leigh, of Dunedin, said police were pursuing several positive lines of inquiry into the death of Sean Buis (28) at Unity Park in Eglinton Rd, Mornington on Thursday.
The death was now being investigated as a homicide, Det Snr Sgt Leigh said.
The investigation was complex and still in its early stages.
Police were not yet certain about a sequence of events.
There were still a number of things that could have happened and a number of people who could have been involved.
A large team of police staff were working tirelessly.
"We owe it to Sean and to his family to get to the truth of what happened," Det Snr Sgt Leigh said.
Mr Buis’ family were being supported and kept updated.
As with any homicide investigation there was rumour and speculation which only got worse as it was repeated, but the inquiry was focusing on facts, Det Snr Sgt Leigh said.
Investigators had a lot of conflicting information to sort through.
People who had been in the vicinity of Unity Park at the time of Mr Buis’ death were being urged to contact police if they had not already and CCTV footage from the area was also being sought.
Whether directly or indirectly, Det Snr Sgt Leigh believed there would be people in the community who knew important information, and police wanted to speak to them.
"I’ve got absolutely no doubt that there will be people who know what happened," he said.
