By Jade Hobman For Daily Mail Australia
14:09 21 Jun 2023, updated 14:10 21 Jun 2023
- Police urged possible witnesses to murder to come forward
- John Kerr, 87, was found with severe injuries to his face last Sunday
- Authorities released vision of a man walking near the crime scene
CCTV of a man walking near a crime scene has been released by police in a desperate bid to find witnesses after an 87-year-old was beaten to death near a popular beach.
The footage also revealed three cars were in the vicinity when John Kerr was killed at Noosa Heads, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, at about 6am last Sunday.
Mr Kerr was out on his early morning walk when he was randomly attacked at the Hastings Street boardwalk.
Police are appealing for witnesses – who officers said were not connected to the death – to come forward immediately.
‘These people aren’t suspected in any way, shape or form. We just know that they’ve been in the area that time,’ Sunshine Coast Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Mansfield told ABC.
‘They could be interstate people who haven’t watched local news, so we’re hoping that this release of footage may assist us in identifying these people.’
The video showed a man walking along a pathway near trees at 6am sporting a blue long-sleeved hoodie, black shorts, a cap and thongs near where Mr Kerr died.
Other video showed a white Toyota hatchback, a green Holden hatchback and a dark coloured sedan driving along Hastings Street leading up the incident between 5:15am and 5:50am.
Bystanders discovered Mr Kerr face-up on a concrete path on Hastings Street with severe injuries to his face.
They tried to help him but Mr Kerr died shortly after emergency crews were called to the scene.
Meanwhile, Ryo Jay Anan – who was not known to Mr Kerr – was arrested after he was found naked 100m away on the Noosa beachfront.
The 27-year-old spent that night in custody assisting detectives with their inquiries before he was later charged over a separate incident – the alleged serious assault of Alan Beech, 69, on Hastings Street around the same time.
The Gympie man is a person of interest in the death of Mr Kerr but has not been charged over the attack.
Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Mr Anan is in anyway responsible.
Noosa Golf Club’s general manager Allan Harris said Mr Kerr had been a ‘well-liked and well-respected’ member for the last 28 years.
‘We are all struggling with the whole incident,’ he told the Courier Mail.
Police said officers will be at the scene this Sunday morning in a bid to find new witnesses.
Authorities previously urged anyone who saw a naked or partially dressed man anywhere near the northern end of Hastings Street or in the Noosa Woods area between 5am and 7am to contact police.