Police investigating the murder of a man from Adelaide’s northern suburbs have seized tools close to where his torso was found in a wheelie bin on a vacant block.
Key points:
- Geoffrey McLean, 55, was last seen alive on the afternoon of August 18 and his torso was found in October
- Police say they have located tools including shovels at the site of the horrific discovery
- They do not believe the crime was drug-related, and have urged a caller to Crime Stoppers to get back in touch
Geoffrey McLean, 55, was last seen alive in August, two months before his torso was discovered by a gardener on Cheviot Road in Salisbury South, with DNA testing later confirming the identity of the remains.
Police today provided an update on the investigation, saying nearby CCTV, the discovery of tools including two shovels, and information provided to Crime Stoppers all offered potential leads.
“I wish to make an appeal to a person who called Crime Stoppers shortly after the discovery of Geoffrey’s body,” Detective Inspector Brett Featherby said.
“That person’s provided accurate and credible information that we deem is very, very reliable … [and they] can still remain anonymous, but we really would like to speak to them.”
Police said CCTV footage filmed from “a nearby commercial premises” on August 24 — several days after Mr McLean, who was from Andrews Farm, went missing — indicated suspicious activity at the vacant block at 4:45am.
Inspector Featherby said the footage showed lights in the area and suggested two people “entered the area where Geoffrey’s remains were located”.
“Those people have either got torches or have headlamps on,” he said.
“They’re acting suspiciously and we believe they enter directly into the area where his remains were located. We would like to seek to identify those persons and actually identify what their role was in Geoffrey’s murder.
“The ground was disturbed at that location and it appeared that people had tried to bury Geoffrey there, and they abandoned their attempts either because the ground was too hard or they were disturbed on that day.”
Crime ‘not drug-related’, police believe
Police found two shovels, a post-hole digger and a gardening fork at the site, and are now conducting checks with northern suburbs businesses to determine when and where they were purchased.
“Those tools, a number of them, were in relatively new condition,” Inspector Featherby said.
He did not want to comment, for operational reasons, on exactly where Mr McLean is believed to have been murdered and dismembered, nor was he drawn on possible motives.
But he said that police believe the crime was “not drug-related”.
Police have said Mr McLean was the victim of four violent attacks at his home address between April 10 and May 10 last year.
“We still at this stage have not been able to locate his head and limbs and our efforts are still firmly focused on identifying where his remains are and also identifying those persons responsible for his murder,” Inspector Featherby said.
Police have so far received 14 calls to Crime Stoppers and have said further information from the caller to whom they have appealed could “go a long way to solving the murder and assisting the investigation”.
