Gardaí investigating the murder of a 49-year-old man in his home in Co Tipperary over the August Bank Holiday weekend are examining the possibility that he was killed by somebody known to him.
The body of Ian Walsh, an employee of Irish Rail, was found with stab wounds in a downstairs room at his semi-detached house in the Ravenswood estate, about a kilometre from the centre of Carrick-on-Suir, by gardaí at around 3.30am last Monday morning.
Garda technical experts found no sign of forced entry at the house, leading detectives to believe that whoever killed Mr Walsh was known to him and may have been admitted by him to the property.
A post-mortem examination by State Pathologist Dr Yvonne McCartney on Mr Walsh’s remains at University Hospital Waterford on Wednesday confirmed that he had suffered a violent death and was the victim of foul play.
Gardaí have not disclosed whether they recovered a weapon at the scene, if there was any sign of a struggle or whether Mr Walsh suffered defensive wounds in the fatal assault.
Officers are still trying to narrow the time of the killing, as the last confirmed sighting of Mr Walsh alive was at 8pm on Friday, August 1st. Although he failed to meet up with friends on Sunday, they believe he could have been killed between late Friday and Sunday.
Gardaí are also keeping an open mind on a motive for the murder of Mr Walsh, a keen cyclist, who was a familiar figure around Carrick-on-Suir.
His remains will lie in repose in Waterford on Monday evening, with a cremation service in Ringaskiddy, in Co Cork, on Tuesday.