GARDAÍ IN Cork were last night treating as suspicious the death of a 62-year-old man whose body was found at his south inner city house, after preliminary postmortem results indicated he may have been the victim of an assault.
Gardaí initially said they were investigating circumstances surrounding the death of the man, whose body was found in a downstairs room of his two-storey terraced house on High Street in the Capwell area on Sunday night.
But yesterday, after receiving preliminary results of a post-mortem from Assistant State Pathologist Dr Declan Gilsenan, gardaí said they were treating the death as suspicious after it emerged the man may have suffered injuries to his head.
Gardaí were last night awaiting confirmation that all family members had been notified before releasing the man's name, but he was named locally by people on High Street as Donal Manley, a single man originally from Grenagh in mid-Cork.
Gardaí confirmed there were no signs of a forced entry to Mr Manley's house, but The Irish Timesunderstands gardaí believe some property may be missing, furthering their belief there was something suspicious about the death.
Mr Manley's body was discovered by gardaí when they gained entry to the house with the assistance of Cork City Fire Brigade at about 8.30pm on Sunday, after they were alerted by neighbours who became concerned after not seeing Mr Manley for two days.
Gardaí cordoned off the area and Garda technical experts began a forensic examination of the scene while Dr Gilsenan carried out a preliminary examination of Mr Manley's body at the scene yesterday morning before it was removed to Cork University Hospital for an autopsy. Supt Michael Finn, who is heading the investigation, confirmed last night that gardaí would await Dr Gilsenan's postmortem results today before determining what direction their investigation will take.
Neighbours on High Street spoke with affection of Mr Manley, who had been living on High Street for over 20 years and was a familiar figure in the area.