Detectives are searching for a second person linked to the death of a 68-year-old man who was attacked at his Leytonstone home

Police are appealing for witnesses after a Leytonstone pensioner died after being punched to the ground by a suspected car thief outside his home last month.

CCTV footage seen by police showed Evaldas Simanaitis, 68, shouting at two males at around 4am on 16th October. He was subsequently hit in the face by one of them and fell to the ground.

Police found him with serious injuries and the London Ambulance Service took him to hospital in a critical condition. Despite the efforts of medical staff, Simanaitis died on 26th October.

Police said a post-mortem examination will be held “in due course”.

Simananitis was found by police who were making enquiries in connection to the arrest of a 25-year-old man for an attempted car theft on Boundary Lane, E13, at 5am on 16th October.

Officers were led to Leytonstone after finding a key in the suspected car thief’s possession that belonged to a car registered on Matcham Road.

The 25-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with the investigation, but enquiries remain ongoing to identify and locate the second male.

Detective chief Inspector Dave Whellam for the Specialist Crime Command said: “Although an arrest was quickly made as officers responded to the call from Boundary Lane, we still need to establish exactly what happened earlier that night.

“Did you see or hear a disturbance in the early hours of Monday, 16 October? Please can you check any CCTV cameras, or footage captured on your doorbell? We need your help to identify the second person who was there.”

Chief superintendent Simon Crick from the North East Basic Command Unit, said: “We know that this incident will have created a lot of distress in the area. A man has lost his life, and I would like to assure you that we are working with our colleagues and doing everything we can to establish what happened.

“I would encourage anyone with concerns to speak with your local officers. We are here to listen, and will take any action as appropriate.”

Anyone with information is asked to call police via 101 quoting reference CAD 847/16Oct. To remain anonymous contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111

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