POLICE investigating the murder of a Perthshire man have appealed to football fans attending the Dundee derby for help with their inquiries.
Father-of-five John McMurchie, 50, from Errol, was found lying in Dundee's Fintry Terrace in the early hours of last Sunday morning and died later in hospital.
Mr McMurchie was a Dundee United fan and police were at Tannadice Stadium during half-time yesterday to seek any further information about his last known movements.
It is known the grandfather-of-two began last Saturday evening with a group of friends at the Dolphin Bar on Fintry Road around 5pm.
Around three hours later, the group moved to the Balmore Bar in Dura Street, which they left about 9.45pm. Mr McMurchie and his companions then moved to the Albert Bar until last orders at 11.30pm.
From there, it is understood the men went to a house in Murrayfield Gardens, which the victim left some time between 3.30am and 4am on Sunday.
Police said they want to speak to two people seen in the area where he was found. The pair were spotted between 3.55am and 4am in an area known locally as the centre path.
Police are still hunting for the murder weapon and have been searching undergrowth in Fintry Terrace and surrounding streets, with particular attention understood to be focused on the area near the terrace's junction with Whitfield Drive and Murrayfield Gardens.
Detective Inspector Bobby Dow said: "We want to speak with people heading home from a night out, taxi drivers who were dropping off or picking up in the area, shift workers heading to or from work, or delivery drivers on early-morning runs.
"Did you see anyone walking in the area, on their own, with others, or even out walking their dog? Don't presume that you didn't see anything of interest. Contact us and let us decide."
He added: "As we piece together his last movements we are scouring the area to see if there is anything that can be found to help us establish exactly what happened to him. We are carrying out our searches but the public can also assist, and I would appeal to them to check their gardens, outbuildings and the area around them.
"If they find anything unusual or out of place, leave it where it is and contact the police."
Crimestoppers revealed last week it would pay a £1000 reward to anyone providing information that traces Mr McMurchie's killer.
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