Postmortem due on body of man found with head injuries in Cobh house

Gardaí investigating the death of a 48-year-old man in Cobh say that a postmortem examination will determine the course of their investigation.

The death is currently being treated as suspicious as a precautionary measure.

The body of the man was found with head injuries in the hallway of his rented home in Cobh in east Cork on Tuesday.

The man, named locally as Leo Owens, was found at the bottom of the stairs on the first floor of the house at Harbour Hill in Cobh at around 5pm by a neighbour.

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Emergency services were alerted and paramedics attended to Mr Owens but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

It is understood that Mr Owens, who was living in a flat in the house, had suffered head injuries.

Gardaí also found blood at the scene, which prompted them to contact the State Pathologist’s office.

Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster will carry out the postmortem.

Gardaí said they are investigating the possibility that Mr Owens may have been fatally injured in a fall down the stairs but they cannot rule out the possibility he may have been the victim of an assault.

Dr Bolster carried out a preliminary examination of the scene before giving the go-ahead for Mr Owens’ body to be removed from the house for a postmortem.

Detectives began their investigation with door-to-door inquiries in the three-storey building, which is divided into four flats as well as neighbouring buildings. CCTV is also being examined.

Homelessness

Earlier this year, Mr Owens featured in an RTÉ Prime Time programme on homelessness as a result of him fighting attempts to have him evicted from the house at Harbour Hill where he had lived for 19 years.

In a subsequent interview with the Irish Examiner, Mr Owens spoke of his determination to remain in the house despite the efforts of a new landlord to have him evicted.

“This is my home for the last 19 years. There is nowhere else to live around Cobh. I will be without a house, definitely, if the landlord forces me out,” Mr Owens told the newspaper.

Mr Owens was the son of former Workers Party Cllr Leo Owens snr and the uncle of rugby player Gavin Owens who lost a leg when he was struck by a train in Australia in 2012.