Gardai in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, were continuing door-to-door inquiries yesterday after the discovery of a young man's body in the grounds of St Luke's psychiatric hospital.
The body of the man, named locally as Mr Jamie Lonergan, aged 21, was found at 3 a.m. yesterday by young people taking a short cut at the back of the hospital, where 168 long-stay psychiatric patients are accommodated.
The man is believed to have been stabbed more than a dozen times in the body and face in what gardaí described as a "vicious attack".
Known locally as Kelly's Field, the area is used as a short cut in daylight hours by residents of the nearby Elm Park housing estate, who were in shock yesterday as news spread of the fatal assault.
No weapon has been found and detectives are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed something suspicious, however insignificant, to come forward.
The victim lived in a flat in the centre of Clonmel with his girlfriend and it is not known how he came to be in the hospital grounds.
He was last seen at a Hallowe'en bonfire in the Wheatfield area of the town on Thursday night.
One young man said he was shocked to hear of the tragic death: "I can't believe it; last night he was laughing and having a good time with the rest of us. Now he is dead."
Mr Lonergan's grief-stricken parents were being comforted by eight other children at their home in Cooleen's Close.
The State pathologist, Dr John Harbison, visited the crime scene late yesterday afternoon and conducted a preliminary post-mortem examination in Waterford Regional Hospital.
Supt Dick Burke, who was at the scene throughout yesterday, confirmed that a full-scale hunt for the perpetrators of the attack was under way.
"It was a busy night with the Hallowe'en celebrations, so we will be calling to the numerous housing estates in the area, as well as appealing to the public who were out celebrating to come forward with any information they may have about this awful crime."