Police are coming under pressure to provide more details and reassurance about their hunt for a murderer who has evaded arrest for more than six weeks.

Officers say they have a prime suspect they are searching for over the killing of Oliver Payne, 38, who was stabbed to death in broad daylight close to Norwich city centre on August 2.

They believe he knew the victim and that the murder was related to a dispute between the pair.

However, they think he has now fled the county and have been unable to track him down.

People are using the underpass as if nothing ever happened just a stone's throw from its entrancePeople are using the underpass as if nothing ever happened just a stone's throw from its entrance (Image: Denise Bradley)

At the weekend, officers from Norfolk interviewed a man under caution in London on suspicion of assisting an offender.

But the suspect himself remains at large and police have declined to give any further details about their investigation.

They believe that by holding information back they increase their chances of a successful arrest and prosecution.

A tent was put up and forensics called in the days following the murderA tent was put up and forensics called in the days following the murder (Image: Bruno Brown)

But the near silence has led to frustration and unease among people living near the murder scene in Paragon Place, a housing estate next to Grapes Hill where Mr Payne was stabbed on a warm summer early evening when many people were out and about.

They say the area - which is linked to the city centre by an underpass near where Mr Payne was attacked - has become a popular venue for drug dealing and criminal gangs and many of them asked not to be named.

One said: “Police are trying to reassure us, but without any information it is hard to see this as anything but a stalled investigation.

"This doesn’t sound like it was a planned attack at all. So why has it been so hard to catch the person?”

A skull has been graffitied onto the wall by the site of the murderA skull has been graffitied onto the wall by the site of the murder (Image: Denise Bradley)

Another added that locals may be better able to help the police if they knew more about the case.

“How can we help the police if we don’t know who or what they are looking for?” he said.

READ MORE: Murder suspect on the run ONE MONTH after man stabbed to death on city estate

Another added: “They say they know who he is, but aren’t the chances of an arrest less likely as more time passes?"

One young mother, who lives on the estate, said: "There is someone mad enough to stab someone in a supposedly 'isolated' incident - how can they guarantee that it won't happen again? The risk is there the whole time he is at large - whether he is in Norfolk or not."

Oliver Payne was killed by the bins in the heart of the estateOliver Payne was killed by the bins in the heart of the estate (Image: Denise Bradley)A spokeswoman for Norfolk Police said: "Police are investigating one suspect in connection with the murder of Oliver Payne and at present lines of enquiry indicate this suspect is out of county.

"Our enquiries are progressing. We continue with every effort to trace the suspect, who we believe was known to the victim.

"The policing purpose for releasing details and descriptions of suspects is always a key consideration for investigators.

"This is a live investigation with enquiries ongoing and at this time we haven’t published details of the suspect.

"This will be kept under review and should there become a time when it is necessary to do so, we would release information to assist the investigation."

 

THE KILLING

Police were called to Paragon Place, in West Pottergate, at 6.44pm on Friday, August 2 to reports that a man had been stabbed.

Locals said the victim, later identified as Oliver Payne, was wounded "brutally" and "gruesomely" in the chest.

Police were seen giving him CPR but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

A post-mortem examination later showed he had been stabbed once in the chest.