Motive for murder not yet established

GARDAÍ ARE continuing to keep an open mind on the motive and circumstances surrounding the killing of a 25-year-old man whose…

GARDAÍ ARE continuing to keep an open mind on the motive and circumstances surrounding the killing of a 25-year-old man whose body was found with multiple stab wounds in a shed at the back of a house in Cork city over the weekend.

Officers found the body of London-born Lee McCarthy in a shed at the rear of a house at St Rita’s Avenue in Gurranebraher on Cork’s northside when they responded to an emergency call from a man at around 6.30am on Saturday morning.

Gardaí, under Supt Con Cadogan of Gurranebraher Garda station, launched a murder inquiry and Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster carried out a preliminary examination of the body at the scene before it was removed to Cork University Hospital for a postmortem on Saturday afternoon.

While gardaí have declined to disclose the results of the postmortem for operational reasons, The Irish Timesunderstands that Mr McCarthy had suffered a number of stab wounds to the neck and to the head which gardaí believe were inflicted by a knife found near his body in the shed.

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Initially, gardaí did not know the identity of the deceased and issued a description of the dead man on Saturday afternoon but at around 6pm, they established that it was Mr McCarthy who had been living in Cork for the past four years and whose mother and brother live in Kinsale.

Early on Saturday morning, a man in his early 30s attended voluntarily at Gurranebraher Garda station where he was interviewed by gardaí about the death of Mr McCarthy and he was later arrested at around 9.25pm under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act for questioning about the killing.

Initial reports suggested that an intruder had broken into the two-storey terraced house. However, gardaí have been unable to establish any sign of forced entry to the house which is located in the middle of a long terrace.

Gardaí are also trying to establish whether Mr McCarthy was first stabbed inside the house or whether the fatal assault took place outside near the shed which is located adjacent to an extension at the back of the property.

To that end, Supt Cadogan requested the services of a forensic scientist from the State Laboratory to assist local Garda technical experts and the scientist carried out an examination of the interior of the house and the rear extension and the shed on Saturday afternoon.

Gardaí are also hoping that the postmortem examination by Dr Bolster will provide an approximate time of Mr McCarthy’s death and to establish if he was alive or dead when he was put in the shed.

Supt Cadogan appealed to anyone who may have seen or heard any suspicious activity in the St Rita’s Avenue, Gurranebraher Road or St Anthony’s Road area of Gurranebraher between midnight on Friday and 7am on Saturday to contact Gurranebraher Garda station on 021-4946200.

Barry Roche

Barry Roche

Barry Roche is Southern Correspondent of The Irish Times