Police reassure Katanning community there is no ongoing threat as homicide squad investigates suspicious death

Police have assured the Katanning community there is “no ongoing threat” following the suspicious death of a man on Wednesday morning, as they urge anyone with information to come forward. Detective Acting Inspector Jessica Securo of the major crime division confirmed said police had been alerted to the dead 49-year-old man by a member of the public. She said that she could not comment on the circumstances or cause of his death, but his injuries were “significant”. “Unfortunately, I’m not able to go into the specific details of the injuries, however the injuries themselves render the incident as suspicious,” she said. The man was found laying on Marri Drive, a residential street on the eastern outskirts of the Great Southern town, at 5.35am and not far from his home. Despite emergency first aid applied by St John WA paramedics, he was not able to be revived. “At this stage, it’d be inappropriate for me to comment on what the deceased was doing in the area, however, I am able to say he was close to his home,” Insp. Securo said. She said a search for weapons would “form part of the investigation” but did not elaborate on what items detectives were searching for in the area, nor why they had dug up a portion of lawn on Casuarina Drive. “We will trawl through bushes, we will look through people’s front yards to see if there’s anything of relevance to the investigation,” she said. She confirmed the man’s dog had been located outside the property. Significant resources had been deployed to the town as investigations continue, including detectives from Perth, Albany, the Great Southern area, uniformed police officers and local government. “There’s no ongoing threat to the community,” she said. Investigators are now calling on residents in the area to review and send in any CCTV, dash-cam or mobile phone footage that may assist the investigation, specifically between 3am and 5.30am when they believe the incident occurred. “The investigation is fairly in its infancy, however, we’ve been able to narrow that time frame down to that between 3am and 5:30am that time frame, it’s in the cover of darkness,” she said. “Between that three and 5.30 is generally when most people are asleep therefore any sounds of yelling, loud noises may be of significance. “The public are there to provide information. “We work very well with the public — anything that you may have of footage, mobile phone, CCTV, anything would be of relevance. “The whole community has come together, with the objective to resolve this as quickly as possible and bring closure to the victim’s family.” Detectives urge anyone with information or dash-cam, mobile phone or CCTV footage relating to the incident to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a report online here. Reports can be made anonymously.