Detectives are now seeking a suspect in the Joel Marino homicide investigation, the Madison Police Department announced Tuesday.

Police said new evidence lead them to believe the suspect, a man previously described as a “person of interest” in the case, is now considered “directly involved in the murder.”

MPD public information officer Joel DeSpain said detectives received tips of possible sightings of the suspect near State Street Jan. 25, a few days prior to the murder.

Police describe the suspect as a white male in his early 20s, 5’10” to 6’2” with a thin build and blonde or light brown hair. He was last seen wearing a tan jacket and a white stocking cap with a red “Motion W” on the front.

Joel Marino, 31, died after being stabbed in his home near South Park Street Jan. 28.

Police are still unsure if the fatal attack was random, but believe it was an isolated incident, according to DeSpain.