Police offer £10,000 reward to help solve 'organised crime hit' after £100,000 cash and class A drugs found at strangling victim's home
Death of Piotr Woroneicki, 32, in southwest London, had been treated as unexplained
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Detectives investigating the mystery death of a man in southwest London last year have launched a murder probe after concluding he was strangled in a suspected gangland killing.
Scotland Yard is offering a £10,000 reward in an attempt to find the killers of Piotr Woroneicki, 32, whose body was discovered in a street in Battersea on 23 November.
Police found nearly £100,000 cash and a “significant amount” of class A drugs at his home in Clapham.
They believe Woroneicki was linked to organised crime syndicate and may have been murdered in a “targeted hit”.
The Polish national’s death was initially treated as unexplained and investigated by local officers.
But in July 2018 a special post-mortem examination concluded he was killed by compression to the neck, an injury consistent with being held in a headlock for a prolonged time.
The Metropolitan Police’s murder and gang crime squads have since taken up the case.
A key line of inquiry is focused on multiple attempted break-ins at Woroneicki’s flat in Clapham Common Northside.
Scotland Yard has released CCTV footage of two men trying to gain access to the building on five occasions between 11.55pm on 22 November and 11.20pm on 24 November.
At least three of the attempts were unsuccessful, but two burglars managed to break into his flat at 1.50am on 24 November, less than 20 hours after Woroneicki’s body was found by a passerby in a street half a mile away.
Detective chief inspector Mark Cranwell, who is leading the investigation, said: “For some reason or another, these people were intent on gaining entry into Piotr’s apartment, but the motive as to why remains unclear to us.
“What makes it even more peculiar is that we know that when officers entered the flat after the actual break in, nearly £100,000 in cash was in the living room along with a significant amount of class A drugs. Why would someone break into a property and leave that big an amount of cash untouched?
“We are still trying to work out the answer to this question and that is why we think Piotr might have been involved in gangs or organised crime.
“For this reason, we are working alongside our colleagues from the organised crime command to look into whether this murder was a targeted hit.”
Police said the men involved in each break-in attempt “appear to differ in descriptions” but it was unclear whether different burglars took part each time.
Woroneicki’s body was found in Parma Crescent at 5.20am on 23 November.
Police said he was last seen alive at New Covent Garden Market at 11.30pm the previous day.
Detectives have appealed for help to piece together his movements in the hours before he died.
Mr Cranwell said: “There are about five and a half hours that Piotr is unaccounted for where we don’t know who he may have met with or spoken to and it’s crucial that we fill in these missing hours to help solve his murder and convict the person or persons responsible for his death.
“The night Piotr died there was torrential rain that some could describe as ‘biblical proportion’. I’m hoping that by mentioning this, it might jog somebody’s memory.
“Although I have said that we believe this murder is linked to organised crime, I want to assure anyone with any information that whatever you tell us will be treated with the upmost confidence. You will be helping to take a murderer off the streets and giving Piotr’s family and friends some closure in what has been a very tough period.”
Anyone with information can contact police on 020 8721 4054 or the charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.