A CCTV image of a car has been released by police investigating the death of an Auckland man likely killed over the contents of his safe.
Shannon Baker, a 55-year-old father-of-two, was found dead in his home on Calgary St in Sandringham on the morning of Tuesday December 11.
Today police released an image of a car they believe may be connected to his death, appealing to members of the public for sightings.
The vehicle is a light blue, late 1990’s Toyota Camry sedan, which is believed to have a missing right rear hub cap and was seen seen in the Sandringham area around the time of Mr Baker's death, in the early hours of Tuesday 11th December, 2018.
Detective Inspector Aaron Pascoe said police believed robbery was the motivation for the killing after Baker’s home was targeted twice in the days before his death.
"We believe robbery was the motivation for what occurred on the night of the 10th and the morning of the 11th," Detective Inspector Pascoe told media on January 25.
"His property was searched, ransacked, drawers tipped out and we believe that there may be a link between the two earlier offences and the offence that occurred that night."
Investigators found an unopened safe containing money – not an enormous amount, according to police - at Baker’s home, Detective Inspector Pascoe said.
"We have discovered during our scene examination that there was a safe inside his address and we believe that the offenders on the night of his death have found that safe," he said.
"The safe was not opened and we believe that it may be one of the reasons he was subjected to a prolonged and violent attack was the offenders trying to get the combination for the safe."
"I’m not going to go into the mechanism of how he came to be deceased, that is something we want to hold within the investigative team at this point."
Mr Baker had been targeted at his home by two people on December 2, one of whom returned to his property on December 6.
There is likely to be a link between these previous incidents and Mr Baker's death, Detective Inspector Pascoe said.
Neither of the incidents were reported to police by Mr Baker.
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