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A convicted child sex offender has been violently murdered - and may have been stabbed in the genitals
Police found 52-year-old Andrew Cunningham naked and covered in blood in his caravan at Wandsworth, south London.
He had been stabbed in the head, neck and chest but had also suffered "non-fatal injuries" to other parts of his body.
There are reports that these included wounds to his genitals, although police have refused to confirm this.
The Metropolitan Police said the gruesome discovery was made at 8am on Wednesday at the Windmill Business Centre in Riverside Road.
Det Chief Insp Nick Scola, leading the investigation, said: "It is the case that Andrew had previously been on the sex offenders register for an offence he committed in 2000.
"Although we're keeping an open mind, it is clearly possible that this was a motive for his murder.
"Regardless of who he was or what he may have done, Andrew was the victim of a vicious assault which ended his life."
DCI Scola played down reports that Cunningham had been killed by a "mob" shouting "Die, paedo, die".
He said: "We're still examining CCTV from the area and working to establish the number of suspects involved.
"However, there is nothing to suggest this was a 'mob' attack.
"I would ask anyone who has information or was in the area that night or in the early hours of the morning and saw or heard anything suspicious to get in touch with us."
Earlier a police spokesman said: "The man, believed to be in his mid-50s, was pronounced dead at the scene.
"He had suffered injuries believed to be stab wounds.
"The post-mortem revealed non-fatal injuries to other parts of his body but we are not discussing these further for operational reasons."
The Sun reported that Cunningham had been convicted of raping a schoolgirl under the age of 13 in 2001 and spent time in prison. He was apparently arrested again in 2003 but no charges were pressed.
Drinkers at a local pub had recently accused him of assaulting the two-year-old daughter of one of the barmaids, the paper says.
Police removed the caravan for forensic testing.
One man, who did not want to be named, said he worked at the unit opposite where the victim lived.
He said: "I spoke to him a few times and he seemed a nice enough fella.
"He drove the big six-wheeler trucks and lived on site as well. A pretty funny way of living I suppose, if you think about it, but I never thought anything of it until now.
"We got into work that morning and there were police everywhere and it was all cordoned off."
:: Anyone with information is asked to contact the Metropolitan Police Incident Room on 020 8721 4138 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111
Yahoo News
Police found 52-year-old Andrew Cunningham naked and covered in blood in his caravan at Wandsworth, south London.
He had been stabbed in the head, neck and chest but had also suffered "non-fatal injuries" to other parts of his body.
There are reports that these included wounds to his genitals, although police have refused to confirm this.
The Metropolitan Police said the gruesome discovery was made at 8am on Wednesday at the Windmill Business Centre in Riverside Road.
Det Chief Insp Nick Scola, leading the investigation, said: "It is the case that Andrew had previously been on the sex offenders register for an offence he committed in 2000.
"Although we're keeping an open mind, it is clearly possible that this was a motive for his murder.
"Regardless of who he was or what he may have done, Andrew was the victim of a vicious assault which ended his life."
DCI Scola played down reports that Cunningham had been killed by a "mob" shouting "Die, paedo, die".
He said: "We're still examining CCTV from the area and working to establish the number of suspects involved.
"However, there is nothing to suggest this was a 'mob' attack.
"I would ask anyone who has information or was in the area that night or in the early hours of the morning and saw or heard anything suspicious to get in touch with us."
Earlier a police spokesman said: "The man, believed to be in his mid-50s, was pronounced dead at the scene.
"He had suffered injuries believed to be stab wounds.
"The post-mortem revealed non-fatal injuries to other parts of his body but we are not discussing these further for operational reasons."
The Sun reported that Cunningham had been convicted of raping a schoolgirl under the age of 13 in 2001 and spent time in prison. He was apparently arrested again in 2003 but no charges were pressed.
Drinkers at a local pub had recently accused him of assaulting the two-year-old daughter of one of the barmaids, the paper says.
Police removed the caravan for forensic testing.
One man, who did not want to be named, said he worked at the unit opposite where the victim lived.
He said: "I spoke to him a few times and he seemed a nice enough fella.
"He drove the big six-wheeler trucks and lived on site as well. A pretty funny way of living I suppose, if you think about it, but I never thought anything of it until now.
"We got into work that morning and there were police everywhere and it was all cordoned off."
:: Anyone with information is asked to contact the Metropolitan Police Incident Room on 020 8721 4138 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111
Yahoo News
