DETECTIVES probing the murder of a Newton car dealer gunned down and left to die in a hospital carpark are seeking a mystery Good Samaritan who tried to help the victim.

John Haselden, aged 24, of Borron Road, was found by staff in the maternity car park of Whiston Hospital on Monday.

He has been shot in the head and was bleeding to death in the passenger seat of his own blue Ford Escort cabriolet.

Another man, who had been driving the car, asked passersby for help before leaving the scene in a white car with two other men.

The sequence of events has baffled police who still do not know whether the men accompanying the gun victim were his attackers or friends.

The family say John Haselden, a bachelor and self-employed car dealer, was in good spirits when he left home late on Monday night.

An hour later he was found bleeding to death in the car park. His body was rushed to casualty but he later died.

Friends say John Haselden had recently been the victim of a savage beating and believed the attack was drugs-related.

But while Mr Haselden had a previous conviction for handling stolen goods, officers have yet found no evidence of links with the criminal underworld.

Police are now anxious to trace the victim's movements in the hour before his murder.

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Evans, of Merseyside CID, said: "He left home at 10.50pm on Monday and an hour later he was found bleeding to death in his car.

"The car he was found in was his and we don't know whether the man with him was involved in the shooting or a friend of the deceased.

"This man left the hospital in a white car and was followed by a Red Maestro, which we have traced. The occupants of the Maestro spoke to two teenage girls and we would now urge them to come forward."

Forensic tests are currently being carried out to establish where the shooting took place.

Meanwhile, officers are trying to establish a motive for the killing.

DCI Evans added: "We have found no definite links to drugs or anything else. This is very early days in what could be a very complicated inquiry.

"We have got a man who, for no reason we are aware of, was shot in the head and left in a hospital car park.

"We don't know whether it was a Good Samaritan or the man who shot him who took him there.

"If it is a friend, and he is frightened of coming forward we can assure him we would look after him."

This week, the curtains were shut at the Borron Road house John Haselden shared with his family. His parents are still too shocked to talk about the death.

A relative said: "It is too soon to get in touch - John's father is a very sick man. It's a terrible shock. We always called John, Little John even though he was now 17 stone. I know nothing about what has happened."

Neighbours are reeling from the shooting and speculate it was drugs-related: "Drugs are everywhere - people trying to make big money but they get in over their heads and end up in trouble. This doesn't surprise me," said a man too frightened to be named.

Another said: "It's like something from a film. The poor bloke could have got mixed up with something dodgy. I hear people say a lot of drugs go on in this area."

One man added: "It is absolutely shocking. The poor lad was only in his twenties. He was a big

bloke who could look after himself - I'm shocked he could up dead."

At the time of his death, John Haselden was wearing jeans and a distinctive black, mid-thigh length zip-up windcheater. It had four pockets each zipped and decorated with an arrow.

When he left his Borron Road home he was driving his blue Ford Escort cabriolet, registration P212 RMB.

The man who drove him to the hospital is described as white, mid thirties and 5ft 8ins to 5ft 10in tall. He was wearing a bright yellow oilskin jacket with a hood pulled up, light jogging pants, a pale T-shirt and dark shoes.

Detectives want anyone who saw the car, possibly being driven erratically, in the time up to the shooting, to come forward.

They are also appealing for anyone who saw the victim in the 24 hours before his murder or have any background information to contact the incident room on 0151 777 6253 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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