Police have confirmed that Polish National Rafal Michal Lyko, was indeed killed deliberatley and as such a murder inquiry has been launched.
Rafal’s body was found in a car after it went up in flames in Greenhall Park in High Blantyre, South Lanarkshire.
Emergency services extinguished the blaze but were horrified to discover the 36-year-old shortly before 8pm on Monday, February 11.
Mr Lyko lives in Poland but was visiting relatives on holiday at Tayside. As the first photo of him is released today, police are stepping up their attempts to solve the mysterious murder.
The car he was found in was stolen from Edinburgh on January 24, but had been in East Kilbride on that Monday morning. It was found on fire in Blantyre’s Greenhall Park. It is unknown if he died at the scene or earlier, elsewhere.
Detectives are trying to piece together Mr Lyko’s last known movements and have been looking through CCTV footage and speaking to residents in the East Kilbride and Blantyre areas.
Chief inspector Davie Scott said: “We are issuing a photo of Rafal and are hoping that anyone who remembers seeing him will contact us.
“We have had a good response from our appeals to date, but we still need to piece together Rafal’s last known movements.
“He arrived at Edinburgh Airport on Saturday, February 9, from his home in Poland. From there he travelled to the Tayside area to visit relatives.”
“Officers are working hard to gather as much information on Rafal’s death and work out where he then travelled to after that.”
He added: “We are keen to speak to anyone who has any knowledge of Rafal’s movements after Saturday, February 9.”
“The Mercedes GLE car he was found in is undergoing extensive forensic examination and officers are continuing to track it from when it was stolen from the Oxgangs Road area of Edinburgh on Thursday, January 24, to when it was seen in South Lanarkshire on Monday, February 11.
“On that Monday morning, it was seen near East Kilbride town centre. We believe the vehicle was later in the Halfway area of Cambuslang before it was found on fire near Greenhall Park, Blantyre.
“I would urge anyone who recognises Rafal, or who saw him after Saturday, February 9, to contact us.
“Any small piece of information on his movements or the car involved could be vital to our investigation.”
