Animal attack injuries have been ruled out as a potential cause of East Harling murder victim Peter Wrighton's death, police have said.
The 83-year-old Banham resident's body was discovered in Norfolk woodlands at 10.46am on Saturday, August 5 - little more than 30mins before he had been seen on CCTV in Kenninghall Post Office, a 15min drive away.
When police arrived, the nature of Mr Wrighton's injuries meant his death was 'treated as unexplained from the outset', said DS Andy Smith, from Norfolk Police.
As a result detectives looked into what he described as a 'number of possible reasons and explanations', adding: 'Animal attack was considered.'
MORE: East Harling murder: police aim to trace Peter Wrighton's final movementsMORE: Descriptions released of three men detectives want to trace in connection with the murder of Peter Wrighton in East HarlingMORE: East Harling murder: a timeline of the key events so farIt was not until the results of a post mortem examination were received on Sunday that police were able to definitively say the injuries showed that Mr Wrighton had been murdered.
On Monday, officers confirmed they had launched a murder inquiry and began door-to-door enquiries to gather information and piece together the final moments before the killing.
They have since urged people to contact them with information and check their bins for the murder weapon.
DS Smith said: 'We need the public's help.
'We want to help Peter's family and people in the area. This was a particularly brutal murder and to do this, we need to piece together Peter's final movements to understand what happened to him and why.
'We need to speak to anyone who has recently visited or frequents the area where the body was found.
'We want to hear from you if you know someone who has information but is reluctant to come forward themselves.'
MORE: Vicar visits East Harling murder victim Peter Wrighton's family to offer supportMORE: 'He used to donate to the foodbank at the church' - villagers react to Peter Wrighton's brutal murderNorfolk Police has also released a poster appealing for information.
DS Smith has said the force would not go into details about Mr Wrighton's injuries for operational reasons.
Anyone with information should phone the dedicated numbers set up to deal with calls about the incident, which are 0800 056 0944 or 0207 158 0010, quoting Operation Graduate.
Alternatively people can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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