Group armed with hatchets may have planned fatal assault on man in Co Louth — gardaí

Gardaí believe a man who died in hospital three weeks after being assaulted in Co Louth was set upon by a group of assailants in an apparent planned attack. While nobody has yet been charged relating to the murder of Marius Juodenas (44), gardaí are working on the theory that some of the men who attacked him were armed with weapons used to beat him, including hatchets.

The dead man, who had been on life support in recent weeks, was originally from Lithuania but was living in Dundalk, Co Louth. Detectives investigating the murder strongly suspect he was attacked by men known to him and that people originally from eastern Europe and who are living in Louth can offer vital information that could solve the killing.

While Mr Juodenas’s death took place on Wednesday all of the resources of a murder inquiry had already been committed to the case, with searches carried out and an assortment of items seized.

Gardaí are following a definite line of inquiry and have identified suspects but they believe more people have information to share and have urged them to come forward.

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Mr Juodenas was set upon the street close to his home on Barrack St, Dundalk, at about 7pm on Tuesday, July 5th, by a group of men. When gardaí were alerted and arrived at the scene, Mr Juodenas was still alive but had suffered very grave injuries.

While Mr Juodenas was brought to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda immediately after being found he was later transferred to Beaumont Hospital where he was placed on life support. Gardaí confirmed on Wednesday night that Mr Juodenas had been pronounced dead at the north Dublin hospital earlier in the day.

“A postmortem was conducted today at Dublin city mortuary, the results of which are not being released for operational reasons,” the Garda said, adding an incident room had been established at Dundalk Garda station and that a murder investigation had commenced.

“A Family Liaison Officer has been appointed and continues to keep the family informed of the investigation.”

Anyone who was in the Barrack Street area between 6.30pm and 7pm on July 5th, or who may have footage from there at that time, is asked to contact Dundalk Garda station on (042) 938 8400, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.