A man who was found dead in his Aldham home, prompting a murder investigation, has been named as 83-year-old Donald Ralph.
Essex Police were called to Halstead Road, Aldham, near Colchester, at about 1pm on Monday following reports a man had been found unresponsive inside a property.
The victim, 83-year-old Donald Ralph, was pronounced dead at the scene following what the police now believe was a "targeted incident".
Officers are currently awaiting the results of a post-mortem examination to establish the cause of Mr Ralph's death and are now searching for his blue Volvo V50 in connection with their investigation.
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Detective Chief Inspector Scott Egerton, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: “We are supporting Mr Ralph’s family at this distressing time and would like to thank residents for the support they have given his family, as well as the help they have given our officers.
“We are progressing our enquiries and from the information we have gained so far, we believe this was a targeted incident.
“It has been established that Mr Ralph’s car, a blue Volvo V50 registration plate HD08 YFV, is missing and we are continuing enquiries to locate it.
"We are also checking if anything else is missing from his property.
“We’d like to speak to anyone who has seen Mr Ralph’s car, or was in the Aldham area between about 3pm on Monday 28 December and 1pm on Tuesday, December 29, and saw anyone acting suspiciously, or has dash cam or CCTV footage.”
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