Police name Brighton murder suspect

Detectives have urged a Brighton man to turn himself in after naming him as their suspect in a murder case.

Sussex Police also asked the public to look out for the wanted man, Ricardo Pisano, also known as Brandon Victor Pillay, Ree or Ricky.

Mr Pisano is believed to have killed Michael Polding, 62, of St George’s Road, Kemp Town.

Mr Polding’s body was found at his flat on Monday 16 July. He is thought to have been dead for about two months.

Ricardo Pisano

A post-mortem examination on Saturday 21 July indicated that he suffered several injuries that led to his death.

A murder inquiry started and on Sunday 22 July a 28-year-old man from North London was arrested on suspicion of murder.

He has been bailed until Thursday 23 August while officers carry out further inquiries.

Today (Wednesday 15 August) the officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Chief Inspector Nick May, said that he believed that Mr Pisano killed Mr Polding.

He said that the two men had been friends and spent time together before Mr Polding’s death.

Mr Pisano escaped from an open prison in New Zealand about ten years ago after being jailed for fraud.

Officers have spoken to police there about Mr Pisano as they try to build up a picture of his personality and his recent movements.

Detective Chief Inspector May said: “We are still unclear as to when exactly Mr Polding died and our inquiries have shown that Mr Polding was friends with Mr Pisano.

“We think he may have information about Mr Polding’s last movements. However, we have been unable to find him so far.

“Mr Polding lived in Croydon for around 30 years and we think they met in Croydon. He (Mr Polding) moved to Brighton in October 2011.

“They remained friends and saw each other regularly in Sussex.

“Mr Pisano has links to Brighton, Croydon, Crouch End, in North London, and Southampton where he was last seen on (Saturday) 28 July at Marlands shopping centre.

“However, he could have since moved to other areas of the country.

“He is originally from South Africa and speaks with a South African accent, although he may change his accent.

“He is about 35 years old and has also lived in New Zealand.

“He could be introducing himself under a number of different names and I would urge people to look at his photograph and contact police if they have seen him recently.

“Any information, no matter how small, could be significant to our inquiry. Please call Sussex Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

“I would also like to appeal for Mr Pisano to get in contact with Sussex Police directly.”

Mr Pisano was described as olive skinned, about 5ft 6in tall and of slim build. He may have grown a beard or disguised himself in other ways since this photograph was taken earlier this year.

Mr Polding was an openly gay man who moved to Brighton last autumn.

Sussex Police said that his death was not linked to any hate crime related to his sexuality and any assault that he had suffered was not the result of a random attack.