Latest On Michael Polding Murder Case

A 28-year-old from London has been stood down from bail by police investigating the murder of a man who had lain undiscovered in his flat for at least two months.

The man has been told no further action will be taken against him by Sussex Police over the killing of Michael Polding in Brighton.

Openly gay Mr Polding was discovered in his flat in St George's Road with multiple injuries on July 16 after concerned relatives contacted police when he failed to stay in touch.

Police are now set to renew their appeal for information about a man dubbed the Artful Dodger of South Africa who is wanted for questioning over the death.

The case will feature on TV next week in an effort to find Ricardo Pisano (pictured above) also known as Brandon Victor Pillay, "Ree'' or "Ricky''. He has links to Brighton, Croydon, Crouch End in north London and Southampton, where he was last seen on July 28 at Marlans shopping centre.

It was revealed last month that Pisano is a convicted criminal who is believed to have walked out of an open prison in New Zealand 10 years ago after being jailed for fraud offences.

His escape led to him being called the South African Artful Dodger by South African newspaper The Star and "New Zealand's greatest prison escaper'' by the Waikato Times.

Police inquiries revealed that Mr Polding was friends with Pisano but officers have been unable to find him so far.

Pisano mainly lived in the Croydon area after arriving in the UK, where he is believed to have met Mr Polding three or four years ago. The men are believed to have lived together at some point and Pisano, who is about 35 years old, moved to Brighton with Mr Polding, describing himself to people as his carer even though he was not in poor health.

He is originally from South Africa, has also lived in New Zealand and speaks with a South African accent. He could be using a number of different aliases. Pisano, who is around 5ft 6in tall and of slim build, may also have grown a beard, police said.