7 Aug 2016

'Violent attack' suspected in Nelson death

5:35 pm on 7 August 2016

Police investigating the death of Nelson man, John Murray Morton, say they're still building a picture of the hours leading up to his death.

Nelson police at the scene where the body of a man was found on board a boat.

Nelson police at the scene of where Mr Morton's body was found at Nelson Haven on Thursday morning. Photo: RNZ / Tracy Neal

Mr Morton's body was discovered in the boat he lived on, on Thursday morning.

A post mortem was completed yesterday and Nelson police said the number and nature of his injuries suggest he was the victim of a very violent attack.

Investigating officer Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Johnston said police were looking at Mr Morton's associates for clues.

"We're just working our way through, we're identifying a number of persons of interest to us, and people known to associate or have been with Mr Morton in recent times."

Mr Johnston said police would be approaching those people and seeking information from them.

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