Were you walking along Lord Gardens in Clayhall the morning after the murder?

Detectives are trying to trace a man who walked past the suspects in the murder of 23-year-old Hainault father-to-be Moses Mayele.

Officers from the homicide and major crime command are appealing for information to trace a man who walked past the suspects in Hainault on Friday, October 12 as they made their way to burn out a vehicle they had used.

Police enquiries have established the suspects used a stolen black Volkswagen Golf on the night of the murder.

At around 3.46am on Saturday, October 13 - some hours after the murder and the attempted murder had taken place - three men were seen walking along the pavement in Lord Avenue, Clayhall.

The man in front was carrying a plastic petrol can in his right hand. They then turned into Lord Gardens where a man walked towards them from the direction of Herent Drive. He passed them and continued on into Lord Avenue.

The man was wearing white trainers.

The black VW Golf vehicle was later found burnt out at Park View Gardens.

Officers are keen to speak with this man and urge him to call the incident room on 020 8345 1570 without delay.

Det Ch Insp Gary Holmes, leading the investigation, said: “I am keen to hear from anyone who can assist us in piecing together the sequence of events that took place that night into the early hours of the next day.

“The man who walked past the three men in Lord Gardens may not have realised the significance of what he saw and I would urge him to come forward and contact police.

“This case remains a very active and fast paced investigation and I urge anyone with information who may be hesitating to come forward to remember that a family is desperately trying to come to terms with the death of a loved one.

“Your information, no matter how small, could provide a missing piece to the puzzle that helps remove a dangerous, violent offender from the streets.”

The man officers would like to speak with, or anyone with information is asked to contact detectives at the Incident Room on 020 8345 1570, via 101 quoting reference 8451/12Oct, tweet @MetCC or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.