Police were called to a house in Halstead Road shortly after 1pm on Tuesday 29 December following reports that a man had sadly been found deceased inside.
He has been named by Essex Police as Donald Ralph, 83, from Aldham.
Officers are awaiting the results of a post mortem examination to establish the cause of Mr Ralph’s death.
Detective Chief Inspector Scott Egerton, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: “We are supporting Mr Ralph’s family at this distressing time and would like to thank residents for the support they have given his family, as well as the help they have given our officers.
“We are progressing our enquiries and from the information, we have gained so far, we believe this was a targeted incident.
“It has been established that Mr Ralph’s car, a blue Volvo V50 registration plate HD08 YFV, is missing and we are continuing enquiries to locate it. We are also checking if anything else is missing from his property.
“We’d like to speak to anyone who has seen Mr Ralph’s car, or was in the Aldham area between about 3pm on Monday 28 December and 1pm on Tuesday 29 December, and saw anyone acting suspiciously, or has dashcam or CCTV footage.”
Anyone with information is asked to submit it online at https:///mipp.police.uk/operation/4201020120P56-PO1
Information can also be given to independent charity Crimestoppers 100% anonymously on 0800 555 111 or https:///crimestoppers-uk.org
