An 83-year-old man has died after being stabbed in the neck and head while out walking his two dogs in Norfolk.
A member of the public found the pensioner’s body in woodland near the Fiveways Junction, south of the village of East Harling, near Thetford, on Saturday and called police at 10.45am.
The man, who was married with children and lived in the East Harling area, died from multiple stab wounds, a post mortem concluded on Sunday.
Police have launched a murder investigation and say the “motive remains unclear”.
Norfolk’s County Police Commander Chief Superintendent Mike Fawcett sought to reassure residents, saying: “I fully understand that residents will be shocked and concerned that a murder with this level of brutality can happen to an elderly man going about his daily business in our county.”
He urged anyone who has noticed any unusual activity in the area recently to come forward.
Fawcett said: “Those who use the woodlands and footpath regularly, especially whose who were there between 9am and 11am on Saturday 5 August, are urged to contact us.”
Speaking to reporters, Fawcett added: “It is a murder by knife attack. It was a brutal knife attack. It is a quiet area, East Harling.”
Uniformed officers and a mobile police station have been set up at the scene and local police patrols have also been increased.