Chris Hill The detective leading the hunt for the Fakenham murderer said the investigation could continue for months if necessary to find the crucial evidence.Steven Murphy, 45, was found stabbed to death in his home on King's Road six weeks ago.

Chris Hill

The detective leading the hunt for the Fakenham murderer said the investigation could continue for months if necessary to find the crucial evidence.

Steven Murphy, 45, was found stabbed to death in his home on King's Road six weeks ago.

The attacker has so far eluded detectives despite more than 1,300 individual lines of enquiry and a �10,000 reward offered by the family for information leading to a conviction.

But Det Chief Insp Jes Fry said there could be no thoughts of scaling down the investigation after recruiting more manpower to boost his team, which now stands at between 20 and 25 officers.

He said although some members of the Norfolk and Suffolk Major Investigation Team had been committed to other incidents in the region, the Fakenham case was still a priority.

“We have drawn some other resources to supplement our numbers,” he said.

“There is enough work here to keep us going for several months. There is no consideration for slowing it down until we have looked at every avenue.

“Unless we come to a positive result, which could come out at any time, it could run for several months until we come across that little piece of information we need.”

Police enquiries are also continuing in Southampton, where Mr Murphy lived until moving to Fakenham in March to be closer to his mother, Valerie Tuck, who discovered his body on October 1.

DCI Fry said Mrs Tuck had visited the incident room last week for a briefing on the investigation.

“The family were very supportive of how the inquiry is being progressed,” he said. “I told her it was still solvable and there are still a lot of enquiries to be done before we even consider the idea it might not come together.

“There are still forensic submissions being processed and there are all sorts of ways it can be detected. The family went away thinking it was more positive than they realised.”

Mr Murphy was last seen alive by a police officer as he sat on a bench on Wells Road at about 6.30pm on September 30. Earlier, he had been drinking at the Star Pub on Oak Street.

t Anyone with information should contact Norfolk police on 0845 456 4567.