Police say they think a man whose body was found in a New Plymouth garage may have been dumped there after he was killed elsewhere.
A homicide investigation was launched after the body was found in the double garage behind a house on Drake Street about 8pm on Friday.
Police say they have been struggling to identify the victim.
Detective Senior Sergeant Grant Coward says the occupants of the house do not recognise him, and he doesn't match any descriptions on the national missing persons database.
At this stage, all he can say is that the body is that of a middle-aged man of medium to solid build.
Mr Coward says the circumstances around the death suggest he was killed elsewhere, and his body taken to the garage and left there.
He says the occupants of the house are distraught to find themselves in the middle of a homicide investigation.