A man who was found dead in a wheelie bin behind a Waitrose wore Versace shoes and looked like Freddie Mercury, the man who found him told neighbours.
Police have arrested a 52-year-old man on suspicion of murder after the man, who had a moustache and piercings, was found in a wheelie bin Saturday at 4pm.
The body was discovered by a man looking for his wheelie bin after it went missing from outside his flat on Tollington Road.
But when he found the wheelie bin he tipped it over and two legs fell out.
Forensic officers dressed in blue plastic suits continue to walk in and out of an empty brick townhouse with an overgrown garden and an old mattress propped up against the front wall
Police are still trying to identify the victim, who had no identification on him, and a postmortem examination has failed to find a cause of death. He is the 46th person to be murdered in the capital so far this year
The body was found in a wheelie bin in a garden close to Waitrose in Holloway – less than half a mile from Arsenal Stadium – on Saturday at 4pm
John Castagnetti, 74, whose neighbour found the body, told the Evening Standard: ‘He couldn’t find his bin in the afternoon, so he went to look for it.
‘When he found it he noticed there was something inside. He turned it on its side and two legs fell out. He was shaken up.’
The body was found in a garden close to the upmarket supermarket in Holloway – less than half a mile from Arsenal Stadium.
Police are still trying to identify the victim, who had no identification on him, and a postmortem examination has failed to find a cause of death.
He is the 46th person to be murdered in the capital so far this year.
A 51-year-old at the scene, who asked not to be named, likened the victim to the iconic Queen singer Freddie Mercury. Pictured, at Live aid in 1985
Two days after the grim discovery police and forensic officers continue to investigate an empty house several doors down from the large supermarket on bustling Holloway Road.
A 51-year-old father, who asked not to be named, likened the victim to the iconic Queen singer.
He said: ‘Word on the street is that he was a well dressed man with a moustache.
‘There are drug issues around here but from the description I can guarantee he was not a drug user around here.
Two days after the grim discovery police and forensic officers continue to investigate an empty house several doors down from the large supermarket on bustling Holloway Road
‘I can say with confidence he wasn’t from around here.
‘I’m not sure if maybe it was a homophobic attack but it is my gut feeling it wasn’t drugs related because the description does not fit with the people who take drugs in this area.
‘I was there when the police put the tape up at 4pm on Saturday.
‘My first thought was that it was an overdose when they told me a body had been found.
‘I didn’t realise at the time that the body was actually in the wheelie bin down the road – it was about five foot away from me.
The man’s body was found in a wheelie bin behind a Waitrose in Islington, north London, on Saturday afternoon. The discovery was made just yards away from the home of Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn
‘One of my neighbours said the guy looked like Freddie Mercury.
‘I am concerned for my daughters – they are teenagers so are often out and about and work around here.’
Forensic officers dressed in blue plastic suits continue to walk in and out of an empty brick townhouse with an overgrown garden and an old mattress propped up against the front wall.
The anonymous resident who moved to the area from Teddington, Surrey, last year said: ‘The house down the road has been empty for at least one year when we first looked around and before we moved in at around Christmas time.
‘It’s up for auction at Allsop for £850,000 so this isn’t great timing for that.
‘I don’t know who owns it but that’s not a bad price for somewhere so central and with good transport links.
‘They extended the cordon up from Waitrose to number 43 which is where they are looking inside now.
‘They followed the road swabbing for blood.’
Another neighbour, who also asked not to be named, said: ‘Police told me the guy was wearing Versace shoes and had designer clothes on. They said he had a moustache and piercings.’
The entrance to the property which is reportedly up for auction for £850,000 is sealed with blue and white police tape.
Jackie Edwards, 61, who lives opposite, said she believed she may have seen a man pushing the wheelie bin down the road in the last week. She said: ‘I just thought, “That’s a bit unusual bringing it out after Tuesday.”‘
Police launched an investigation after the discovery near the supermarket’s car park at 4pm
The residential street, which is a five-minute walk from Holloway Tube station, is also home to a St Mungo’s hostel and another empty building which is reportedly used by squatters and drug users.
A forensic tent was set up on Tollington Road while officers tried to identify the man.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said a 52-year-old man was being held at a north London police station after being arrested on suspicion of murder yesterday.
He added: ‘At this stage, the death is being treated as unexplained. Detectives are still working to establish the man’s identity.
The Metropolitan Police wrote on Twitter on Saturday night: ‘Officers are at a scene in Tollington Road #Islington where a man’s body was found in a wheelie bin at approx 4pm on Saturday.
‘Central North officers working to establish identity. Death being treated as unexplained at this stage and no arrest. Post-mortem to be arranged.’
A forensic tent (pictured) was set up while police tried to identify the dead man. Detectives have arrested one man on suspicion of murder
A spokesman for the Met added: ‘Police were called to Tollington Road, Islington, shortly before 4pm on Saturday, May 11, to reports of a man’s body found in a wheelie bin.
‘Officers attended. Road closures have been put in place at the scene.
‘Detectives are working to establish the man’s identity. At this stage, the death is being treated as unexplained.’
It comes after a reported spike in drug dealing in the supermarket car park, with one resident claiming people ‘smoking crack’ and ‘screaming’ had become a common feature on Shelburne Road, according to the Islington Gazette.
There is no suggestion the death is drug related.
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