powerboat racer and top marine mechanic Mr. MacDonald (Mackie) Douglas as an "unusual case of murder''.

"We don't really know what we've got,'' Detective Mike Pisano, heading the investigation into the slaying, said yesterday. "It doesn't make sense.'' Mr. Douglas, who leaves behind his wife Joanne and one daughter, was found face down in the backseat of his rental car in the Harlem area early on Thursday morning.

The Hermitage Road, Devonshire man had been shot three times, apparently at close range, in the stomach and head. And his wallet and keys were missing.

But Det. Pisano said the crime did not fit the pattern of a typical robbery nor a "car-jacking'' -- a new form of crime terrorising America's roadways.

It did not make sense that the body was found in the backseat of the car when Mr. Douglas had been the driver, he said.

And, according to Douglas' family members, the 38-year-old Douglas did not know anyone in Harlem or at the 3261 Broadway address his Chevy Corsica was found parked in front of.

"We don't know what the heck he was doing in the neighbourhood,'' he said.

Det. Pisano described the area as "a bad area'' known for drug dealing and crack houses.

He said it did not appear that Mr. Douglas had participated in any criminal activity.

A "strong angle'' being investigated, he revealed, was that Mr. Douglas was shot and robbed somewhere in New Jersey where his hotel was and then dumped in Harlem.

"It's been done before,'' he said. "Bodies have been dumped here to throw the police off.'' Det. Pisano said there were indications the car was in motion after Mr.

Douglas had been shot.

He pointed out there was no blood on the door of the driver's seat or anywhere near it. And there was no blood on the pavement where the car was parked.

But there was a lot of blood splattered on the outside of rear door of the car, he said. However, when the car was found, the window had been rolled up.

"(The culprit) may have had to close the window because blood was getting all over him,'' he ventured.

Det. Pisano said robbers would take the wallet as well as the cash to make identification more difficult.

Det. Pisano added there was also the possibility Mr. Douglas had stopped for something to eat in the area and met up with some people.

"I really don't know what to make of it,'' he said.

Police were able to identify Mr. Douglas by a rental agreement found in the car.

Local Police gave Mr. Douglas' family the bad news on Thursday night after New York City Police had contacted them.

Police spokeswoman Sgt. Andrea Browne said yesterday that local Police were not involved in the investigation. "It's not in our jurisdiction,'' she said.

Neither Mrs. Douglas nor her family wished to make any comment on the murder when contacted yesterday.

Mr. Douglas brother Mr. James Douglas was in New York yesterday taking care of arrangements to fly his body back and assisting Police in their investigation.

Mr. Douglas had been staying at the Ramada Inn near the Newark Airport in New Jersey.

When last seen he had been driving to a restaurant for dinner. It is understood he was on a business trip.