David King murder: Police search for man in footage on Masonite Rd, Heatherbrae to assist probe

It is more than 15km from where drug dealer David King was murdered, but police have called for assistance regarding security vision of a man throwing an object onto the roof of a building.

It is less than 10 seconds of security footage more than 15km away from the scene of a brutal shotgun murder which has become a new focus for investigators chasing the killers of drug dealer David King.

Strike Force Breve investigators are attempting to identify the man captured on the close circuit television footage appearing to throw something onto the roof of a business on Masonite Rd at Heatherbrae about 2.30pm on August 29.

Strike Force Breve detectives wish to speak with the man in the footage seen running down Masonite Rd at Heatherbrae before throwing an object onto the roof of a business on August 29, 2021. Picture: NSW Police

Police want to speak to the man as they believe he could assist with their inquiries. There is no suggestion he murdered Mr King.

The business is less than a kilometre away from where a Santa Fe was dumped and set alight just under an hour after Mr King was shot in the face.

And the keys to the Santa Fe were discovered on the roof of the same business during a search by police in the days following the murder.

Footage shows the man throwing an object onto a roof. Picture: NSW Police

Mr King, 45, was on bail for drug dealing when he travelled the few kilometres from his Tanilba Bay home to the quiet Salt Ash street a few hundred metres from Nelson Bay Rd on the Sunday afternoon.

The gunman was inside Mr King’s Ford Ranger utility when he fired the shot which ultimately killed Mr King, who drove over a letterbox, performed a U-turn and crashed into a tree before falling from his vehicle.

Salt Ash murder victim David King, 45, of Tanilba Bay. Picture: Supplied.

The gunman and at least three other people – two men and a woman – escaped from the scene before authorities arrived.

As the first crime scene was set up on the semirural Hideaway Place at Salt Ash, a second was set up after fire crews extinguished the blaze which had engulfed a Santa Fe off Masonite Rd.

Police at the scene of a burnt out car about 15km away from where David King’s body was found in Salt Ash. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Peter Lorimer

The footage on Masonite Rd is captured about 2.30pm – about 45 minutes after Mr King was murdered in what senior police confirmed was a targeted attack.

It shows a man walking down the road of the industrial area before he stops and throws an object onto the roof of a building across the road from the camera.

Police at the scene of a burnt out car about 15km away from where David King’s body was found in Salt Ash. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Peter Lorimer

Specialist police would later search the roof and find keys which match those used in the burnt out Santa Fe.

The footage has emerged just under three weeks since The Newcastle News revealed that Strike Force Breve had seized a car and performed at least one search warrant on a home in Raymond Terrace.

Police say the man might be able to assist with their inquiries and have asked the public to help identify him.

Police conduct a line search at the scene of the fatal shooting of David King at Salt Ash. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Peter Lorimer.

It was a stage of the investigation where detectives were narrowing in on those suspected of knowing who was responsible for Mr King’s murder,

Information should be forwarded to Raymond Terrace police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.