Police in Germany are searching for the suspect who allegedly fatally stabbed the former design head of Rolls-Royce on the threshold of his Bavarian mansion.
Ian Cameron, 74, was found dead in a doorway of his residence in Herrsching around 9:20 p.m. Friday, according to the Upper Bavaria police.
Cameron’s wife, Verena Kloos, escaped the horrifying attack and fled to a neighbor’s house, where she alerted the authorities, the police explained.
Witnesses supposedly saw an unknown male fleeing the couple’s property on foot.
After scouring the area by foot and via helicopter over the weekend, the police released CCTV images of the suspect at the scene of the crime and shopping at a nearby grocery store just a few hours before the killing.
The unidentified man was seen sporting a thin beard and a buzzed haircut.
He appeared at the crime scene wearing a blue hoodie and a red backpack.
The backpack stuffed with clothing and goods from the supermarket was supposedly found by investigators near Lake Ammersee, BILD reported.
Cameron was the design director for Rolls-Royce from 1999 through 2012, Road and Track noted.
His best-known work included the 2003 Phantom VII, which was credited with returning the Rolls-Royce brand to the pinnacle of luxury car makers following the takeover by BMW.
“Ian played a significant role in shaping Rolls-Royce from when it was first acquired by BMW Group and moved to its home at Goodwood, West Sussex,” Rolls-Royce CEO Chris Brownridge wrote in a LinkedIn tribute to the slain designer.
Cameron, he added, “led the design team for all Phantom family and Ghost models, creating thoroughly contemporary motor cars that remained sympathetic to the marque’s design heritage. My thoughts are with his family and friends during this very difficult time.”
Cameron was known to tinker on vintage cars outside his garage, several German outlets indicated.
It was not immediately clear if the killing was a robbery gone wrong, or if there was some other motive for the crime.
In addition to a helicopter team and a dedicated force of around 30 police officers, the authorities have also deployed sniffer dogs and drones in the hopes of catching the suspect.
“We are currently not assuming there is a danger to the general public,” a police spokesperson told public broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk – though they added that the wanted man “is not entirely harmless.”
