THE FATHER of a man wanted for questioning over a brutal murder in Basingstoke has urged his son to contact the police.

Former Basingstoke councillor Peter Markham, 55, of Berewyk Close, Hatch Warren, has said he cannot believe his son Richard (pictured) has been caught up in the investigation into the death of his neighbour, Tristian Lovelock.

Mr Lovelock's severed head was found in Russell Howard Park on Friday.

Mr Markham, who is employed by Basingstoke council as a researcher for the Conservative group, has told a national newspaper that any involvement in the murder would be completely out of character for Richard.

He added that his son, who he has not spoken to for eight years, should call the police so they can fully investigate the incident.

An international manhunt has been launched for 27-year-old Mr Markham, who flew to New York three hours before Mr Lovelock's body was discovered. He has been labelled "very dangerous" by police.

On Monday, Mr Lovelock's mother Ruth Halliday, 46, from Wiltshire, appealed to the public for information because she did not want anyone else to suffer.

She told a press conference: "In 1977, the Queen's Silver Jubilee year, I was given a son, Tristian. This weekend, the Golden Jubilee, 25 years later, he has been violently and horrifically taken from me in the prime of his life.

"I have lost my son, Tristian's sister has lost her brother, Tristian's daughter and son have lost their daddy."

Mr Lovelock, 25, was separated from the mother of his children Charlie, seven, and Ella, five.

Both he and Mr Markham lived in St Nicholas Court and were last seen together at 8pm on Thursday at a friend's house.

Mr Lovelock's torso and right arm were found in Mr Markham's blood-spattered flat five hours after his head was discovered, 20 yards from a play area.

A neighbour later found the other arm in her back garden, and police located Mr Lovelock's legs in Russell Howard Park on Saturday morning.

Mr Lovelock, an unemployed carpenter, was believed to be a former pupil of Brighton Hill Community School.

In April, he left a bizarre message on the Friends Reunited website, which said: "A carnival of words magical and mystical, a circle of friends mad and hysterical, watching a mad man dazed and bewildered shouting demands from the top of a temple! I Tristian Robert Lovelock now announce I am clinically insane."