DETECTIVES believe they know who murdered a man with a kitchen knife and left him lying by his front door.

Officers yesterday continued to investigate the death of a 50-year-old man found at his home in Osmonde Close, Broadwater, in Worthing.

A friend had raised the alarm after the victim had not been seen since Saturday afternoon. His body was found in the doorway on Tuesday at around 12.15pm when police broke into the property to get to him.

It is thought he was stabbed with a kitchen knife found at the scene but detective chief inspector Tanya Jones, who is leading the investigation, said the extent of his injuries had not yet been established.

The entire street remained cordoned off yesterday with forensics teams still combing the house for clues and evidence. PCSOs continued to carry out house to house enquiries in nearby Centrecourt Road. The body remains at the scene while forensics teams comb the building for evidence.

A post mortem is expected to take place this afternoon and the preliminary results from the forensic scientist are awaited.

DCI Jones said police are expected to remain at the scene until the weekend.

She said they believe they know the identity of a murder suspect and are investigating leads on his whereabouts.

Speaking exclusively to The Argus she said: "We are looking for him. In these circumstances we always risk assess. We have not released his details because we do not believe he is a risk to the public. We think he is known to the victim and this incident involved these two people."

The Argus understands the suspect is the victim's lodger.

DCI Jones said officers were still trying to trace the victim's relatives which is why he had not been formally identified at this stage.

She said: "The victim was last seen on Saturday afternoon is he thought to have died later that day or possible some time on Sunday.

"It depends on the circumstances of the crime but sometimes we leave someone's body in situ to get the best possible amount of evidence from a crime scene before we move them."

Now officers would like to hear from anyone who saw anything suspicious in the street since Saturday and particular people's movements and any vehicles seen entering or leaving the road.

DCI Jones said: "Even the smallest piece of information could help. We look at things like changes in a person's lifestyle, even something someone might have heard in the pub about a fall out or disturbance might be helpful. I would rather know so we could rule it in or out of the investigation."

She added: "This is an incredibly tragic situation. We are continuing with are enquiries, more officers will be in the area speaking to members of the public, and we will monitor all the information. Even if it is just a rumour, we would ask anyone who has any information to come forward."

Call police on 101 or email 101@sussex.pnn.police.uk quoting Operation Waterhouse.

QUIET NEIGHBOURHOOD SHOCKED BY DEATH

RETURNING home from a long day at work, neighbours found police tape and a handful of officers clustered near their homes.

For many, this was the first they had heard of an incident in their street, most had no idea there had been a murder.

While they were out, officers had been called to a house when a friend expressed concern for the man he had not seen since Saturday afternoon.

When officers checked his house in the quiet cul-de-sac they found the body of a man in the front doorway and had to break into the property to get to him at around 12.15pm on Tuesday.

On further investigation detectives established he was most probably stabbed by a kitchen knife found at the scene.

A small collection of residents gathered at the police cordon on Tuesday night, while those living inside the marked-off area were escorted back to their doors.

The shock of this news lingered yesterday as a steady stream of police cars arrived in Centrecourt Road in Worthing and turned into Osmonde Close where the man lived.

Officers had come to relieve others of their duties manning the round-the-clock cordon which sealed off the entire street.

Forensic vans and police vehicles arrived to take away evidence while investigators wearing white protective suits and blue masks combed the house with brushes where a plastic tarpaulin hung over the front doorway close to where the man’s body was found.

He had not yet been moved so forensics teams could get the most evidence possible from the scene first.

The extent of his injuries and the circumstances of his death have not yet been established.

Meanwhile PCSOs walked from house to house revisiting neighbours from enquiries they made on Tuesday night and speaking to anyone else who may have seen anything suspicious or knew the victim.

Many residents expressed disbelief that this could happen in a quiet, friendly street where a number of families live.

Councillors have described a close-knit community.

Some who knew the victim were too overwhelmed by the series of events to talk in any more detail but were helping police with their enquiries.

One resident told The Argus: “The first I knew of it was the road being sealed off when I got home from work.

“Then we had police knocking at the door on Tuesday night.

“They wanted to know if we had seen anything suspicious or any disturbances since Saturday afternoon.

“I had no idea what had happened. I didn’t even know him but it is very, very sad.

“We’ve had police cars coming and going ever since.

“It looks like they will be there a long time.”

While very little is known at this stage of the sequence of events that led to the death, the inspector leading the investigations expects officers and forensic teams will be at the house gathering evidence until this weekend.