Murder probe begins after body found in burning car
THE death of a Polish man who was found inside a burning car is being treated as murder.
Rafal Michal Lyko, 36, was found in a stolen Mercedes by police who had raced to a car park in Blantyre, Lanarkshire, following reports of an explosion.
Following a post mortem, police revealed Mr Lyko was the victim of the mystery incident.
The father-of-one had travelled to Scotland and arrived at Edinburgh Airport before staying with family in the Tayside area last week.
He travelled to South Lanarkshire and later visited the Blairgeth area of Rutherglen. But emergency services raced to Blantyre last Monday night after residents reported an explosion and raised the alarm.
Police Scotland’s Major Investigation Team has now launched a murder probe into the death and appealed for information from the public.
Detective Chief Inspector Davie Scott said: “We are issuing a photo of Rafal and are hoping that anyone who remembers seeing him will contact us.
“We have had a good response from our appeals to date, but we still need to piece together Rafal’s last known movements.
“He arrived at Edinburgh Airport on Saturday February 9 from his home in Poland.
“From there he travelled to the Tayside area to visit relatives.
“Officers are working hard to gather as much information on Rafal’s death and work out where he then travelled to after that. We are keen to speak to anyone who has any knowledge of Rafal’s movements after Saturday February 9.”
Police had earlier revealed the Mercedes had been stolen in the Oxgangs area of Edinburgh last month.
Det Ch Insp Scott added: “The Mercedes GLE car he was found in is undergoing extensive forensic examination and officers are continuing to track it from when it was stolen from the Oxgangs Road area of Edinburgh on Thursday January 24 2019 to when it was seen in South Lanarkshire on Monday February 11 2019.
“On that Monday morning it was seen near East Kilbride town centre. We believe the vehicle was later in the Halfway area of Cambuslang before it was found on fire near Greenhall Park, Blantyre.
“I would urge anyone who recognises Rafal, or who saw him after Saturday the February9 to contact us.
“Any small piece of information on his movements or the car involved could be vital to our investigation”
Anyone with information should contact police on 101 quoting reference number 3663 of February 11, 2019. Alternatively Crimestoppers can be contacted on 0800 555 11.