With extensive trauma to his face, an unidentified man wandered the streets of a quiet outer-suburban neighbourhood, shoeless, injured and cold.
Known only by the number 1238/95, he was seen struggling to stay on his feet before trying to seek assistance by knocking on the door of a home on Sorbonne Drive, about 40km from Melbourne.
His body was found a day later, on May 1, 1995, dumped in long grass at North Point Business Park, an industrial area of Roxburgh Park.
The man had suffered stab wounds to his upper body, adding to the severe injuries he was already carrying.
He was wearing a navy-blue jumper, a grey Nike T-shirt and shorts.
The man was not wearing shoes or jewellery and had no wallet or phone.
Almost three decades later, police have turned to high-tech imaging to help them uncover the identity behind the face that has haunted them all these years.
"It is incredibly rare to have these circumstances where we have been unable to identify someone for such a long time," Detective Sergeant Sol Solomon told reporters on Tuesday.
Police have made multiple public pleas to identify the man in the past three decades.
One of them led a member of the public to come forward to say they had seen a man who fit the description hours earlier, outside a home in Sorbonne Drive, with a bloody head wound and facial injuries.
The resident opened their door to the man before closing it and calling the police.
They opened their door again once police were on the way, but the man was gone.
"We believe that he was attacked and assaulted in close proximity to Sorbonne Drive, and it appears that he's made his way to a house to get help," Det Sgt Solomon said.
Police have conducted an exhaustive investigation to identify the man, who was never reported as missing.
His fingerprints and dental records have been checked in Australia and internationally, to no avail.
"We have a person who has been murdered and dumped ... We have never been able to find out who that person is, and they have a family who would like to know what has happened to their relative," Det Sgt Solomon said.
"We would also like to identify the people responsible for killing this individual."
