A suspected murder victim who was found dead inside a unit block in Adelaide’s CBD was the victim of a “targeted” and “vicious” attack, police say.
Key points:
- The body of Nathan Russell, 46, was found inside the unit
- Police believe he was murdered some time between Monday and Tuesday evenings
- Police have not identified a potential motive
The body of Nathan Russell, 46, was found by a friend inside a unit at the Sturt Street property on Tuesday evening.
Police were called to the scene about 6:30pm, and later revealed the death was being treated as suspicious.
The victim’s identity was revealed by police at a media conference this afternoon.
Major Crime Detective Inspector Brett Featherby said the attack on Mr Russell was not considered random, and was being treated as murder.
“For operational reasons [we] won’t be commenting on how he has died.
“What we do believe though is that there are people who may have been present in the vicinity who have knowledge of the attack and who have knowledge of his murder.”
Police believe Mr Russell was attacked some time between Monday evening and the time he was found.
“It’s unknown how many people were involved, presently the motive’s unknown,” Inspector Featherby said.
“[We] do not have any firm suspects at this time.”
Detectives and forensic examiners attended the scene again today.
One neighbour told the ABC that there had been “a lot of problems in the block in the past”.
Another neighbour — Symone Freeth, who knew Mr Russell — said the units could be “very hectic”.
“A lot of things happen behind those doors,” she said.
Asked whether the crime could be linked to drugs, Inspector Featherby said “that will form one part of the investigation going forward”.
“As to whether it is gang-related, at this time we can’t confirm that, we don’t know,” he said.
Sturt Street was the scene of another alleged murder in 2019, when a woman’s body was found inside a home.
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