Police believe Bill Frangos was murdered before his Woodville Gardens home was set alight ‘to deliberately destroy evidence’

Detectives have revealed the identity of a man they believe was murdered before his home was torched – and said why they think the blaze was lit.

The body found inside a burning Woodville Gardens home is believed to have been Bill Frangos, 72, a “well-known member of the community”.

Detective Acting Inspector of the Major Crime unit Matthew Fitzpatrick said following police investigations they believed that “Bill was murdered, and the house was set on fire to deliberately destroy evidence” of foul play.

The crime was uncovered when a passer-by raised alarms about an “orange glow emanating” from the home in Essex St, just after 4am on Thursday.

When firefighters entered the home they made a grim discovery – a man’s body inside.

Bill Frangos, the man police believe was murdered before his Woodville Gardens home was set alight. Picture: SA Police.

Mr Fitzpatrick said the body is believed to belong to the home’s long-term resident Mr Frangos – the sole occupant of the home – although “formal identification procedures have not been completed due to the complexities of the fire investigation”.

Mr Frangos’ large dog was found unharmed by the flames in the rear yard.

Mr Fitzpatrick said at this stage of their investigation they are “maintaining an open mind in respect to the motive for the murder”, as well as “who may be responsible for Bill’s murder”.

“The investigation is progressing very well,” he said.

“Despite the fire, we’ve recovered evidence from within the house and we are receiving excellent co-operation from the community.”

The Advertiser understands that some of the items recovered included those used in the cultivation of drugs.

Mr Fitzpatrick conceded that “items usually used to cultivate cannabis have been removed from a number of premises associated to Bill”, which are the two neighbouring homes on the corner of Essex and Trafford streets.

“Those items appear to be from historical cultivation of cannabis,” he said.

“We are certainly keeping an open-mind in respect to whether (drugs) are a motive.”

Mr Fitzpatrick conceded that Mr Frangos had previously been known to police due to historical cannabis cultivation involvement.

Detective Superintendent Des Bray (right) with police colleagues at the scene of the Woodville Gardens fire. Picture: RoyVPhotography

Police investigators at the Essex St, Woodville Gardens, home. Picture: RoyVPhotography

Police cordoned off the road as they investigated the fire. Picture: RoyVPhotography

Police are now hunting for the persons behind the alleged murder of Mr Frangos.

“We’ve identified a number of persons of interest, those persons have been spoken to yesterday – they’ve assisted the police with our inquiries,” he said.

“And at this time, we’ve discounted their involvement.”

Investigations are canvassing CCTV from the area to understand Mr Frangos’ movements before his death, as well as identifying any vehicles or people that entered the Woodville Gardens home.

Although police have not made any arrests, it is not believed to have been a random attack, and members of the public are not believed to be at risk.

The immediate family of Mr Frangos have “provided extensive assistance” to police. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by family members.

Anyone with information about this murder is about this murder, or who have been in contact with Mr Frangos in the last six weeks, is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.