Toronto police say a man found slain last week inside a Scarborough commercial building was attending a scheduled meeting at the vacant building "for an illicit purpose" when he was killed.

“It looks like it was some pre-arranged meeting that somehow went bad,” said police Det. Mike Carbone during an update on the case at a Tuesday news conference.

Julian Richard Lee, 31, was found dead in a vacant unit of a building at 1970 Ellesmere Rd. on Wednesday afternoon.

Police said Tuesday that Lee and a woman arrived at the building shortly after 1 p.m. They were driving a white Mercedes SUV. Police said the woman is an acquaintance of Lee's

When they arrived, a red SUV was parked near a bay door of the building. An unknown man met Lee outside the building and the two entered via a rear service door.

Shortly after, two men exited the building. One drove away in the red SUV, another directed the woman who had accompanied Lee inside the unit.

The woman went inside the building, which police said has been vacant for months, where she saw a third man. Once inside, the woman and Lee were bound. Police said Tuesday Lee died of blunt force trauma while the woman was left unhurt. She is co-operating in the investigation, police say.

Some police say a man “associated with the premises” then freed the woman and police were called.

Police are trying to locate the three unknown men.

The driver of the red SUV is described as light-skinned black man, 30 to 35 years of age with a skinny build.

The two men who police say were inside the building are described as:

  1. A black man weighing 170 to 190 pounds, five foot 10 inches tall. He was wearing a baseball cap and dark shirt.
  2. A man with a dark complexion, 35 to 40 years in age, six foot three inches tall, weighing 200 pounds and wearing a black jacket with hood.

Police said Tuesday that Lee is known to police, but would not elaborate.

Video from the building’s security camera was released by police on Tuesday showing the red SUV arriving, then leaving the scene.

Anyone with information in the case is asked to call the Toronto Police Service or CrimeStoppers.