The police say they are searching for a man who they believe can give information about the March 20 slaying of former Trade Board Chairman Ambassador Peter King.

The man, known either as ‘Douglas’, ‘Ducklass’ or ‘Sheldon’, is believed to be between 19 and 24 years old, of dark complexion, slim build and is described as “fit but not muscular”.

‘Ducklass’, police say, was one of six men present at a small party King held at his house the night he was killed, but so far is the only person known to be at the gathering who has not yet come forward to the police to give information.

The police have declined to release the names of the other guests. However, they say that among them was a medical doctor, a well-known Montego Bay businessman, and three men who were found sleeping in the house when police arrived at the house the following morning.

Those three men, police say, lived at King’s St Andrew house as part of his permanent household staff and have been co-operating with the investigation.

King, who was also Jamaica’s special envoy, was found by staff of his consultancy firm lying on the floor of his bedroom, his throat slashed and his body mutilated. Until yesterday, the police could identify neither a murder weapon, a motive nor a killer, although they did remove from King’s house a collection of videos, the contents of which have been the source of much speculation and controversy.

On Wednesday, Deputy Commissioner of Police with responsibility for crime, Mark Shields, was quick to dispel rumours of the tapes’ contents, describing the rumours surrounding the case as “unhelpful and destructive” and saying that the rumours actually may be preventing people with information from coming forward. The tapes, he said, did contain details of King’s personal life, but so far had yielded nothing useful to the murder investigation.

“Due to the vast quantity of material, it will take some time to review them all, but so far we have observed no celebrities, no politicians, no senior police officers, members of the clergy, or sporting figures on any of the images,” Shields said in an attempt to quash the rumours.

He added that all evidence removed from King’s house would be stored in a secure location accessible only to senior police officers investigating the case.

– campbello@jamaicaobserver.com