In pictures: Police divers search River Nene as Northampton murder investigation enters day four

Robert Brown, aged 57, from Northampton, was found dead on a bench on a footpath next to the River Nene, behind Auctioneers Court, at around 6.30am on Friday August 1. A murder investigation was launched later that day.

Police say he suffered a wound to his arm, but that the exact cause of death is “unascertained at this stage”.

The 57-year-old was named by police as the murder victim on Sunday August 3 and detectives have now released a CCTV image of Robert in Morrisons in Victoria Promenade on Thursday July 31 – the night before he was found dead.

A spokeswoman for Northamptonshire Police said: “A CCTV image of Robert, who visited Morrisons supermarket in Northampton town centre on the evening of Thursday July 31. We hope this image may jog the memory of anyone who may recognise him but not know him by name, and may seen him around Auctioneers Court or the riverbank in that area overnight on Thursday July 31 to Friday August 1.”

Detective Chief Inspector Jen Lovatt from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit added: “Any information, no matter how small, can help us piece together exactly what happened.”

The Chronicle & Echo visited the scene on Monday morning (August 4) as the investigation entered its fourth day. Pictures show police scuba divers searching the River Nene while the area remains taped off to the public.

The scene guard remains in place and areas around it will stay closed for now. This includes a stretch of the river and riverbank between London Road bridge and Nunn Mills Road bridge, which is currently closed to the public while further searches are carried out. The area is likely to remain closed until Tuesday evening, August 5, while specialist search teams complete their work.

People are thanked for their patience and asked to continue to avoid the area while investigations and searches are ongoing.

Detectives would also like to hear from anyone who lives in the “large number of apartments” overlooking that part of the river, who may have captures doorbell or CCTV footage.

Witnesses or anyone with information is asked to contact Northamptonshire Police on 101 or alternatively call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111, quoting incident number: 25000450267.

Information can also be submitted online at www.northants.police.uk/RO and crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information.

Alternatively information can be submitted via a police online portal here or at mipp.police.uk.