Gardaí were last night investigating the death of a man who appeared to have accidentally choked to death on his clothing while trying to break into a house in Tralee, Co Kerry.
They believe the man, whose name has not yet been released, slipped while standing on a lawnmower as he was trying to gain access to a house.
Officers were alerted to the scene at around 3 p.m. yesterday afternoon by a house owner in the Woodlands area, on the Listowel Road.
He had returned home to discover the body of a man in his mid-30s caught in a downstairs window.
The man made the discovery when he went into a downstairs toilet and noticed a jumper caught on the window.
He went around to the outside of the house where he found the man hanging from the window. He immediately alerted gardaí.
Gardaí say they believe that the dead man was standing on a lawnmower trying to gain entry through the toilet window when he slipped and his jumper caught on the window. He then appears to have choked to death.
The body of the deceased, who was known to gardaí, was removed to Tralee General Hospital.
The Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster, will carry out a post-mortem today to establish the time and cause of death.
Gardaí were last night waiting to notify the man's next of kin before releasing his name.
It is understood that he is a native of Limerick and has been living in Tralee for some time with his partner and a number of children.
Meanwhile, gardaí in Killarney, Co Kerry, were last night waiting to interview a Polish man in connection with a serious assault in the town on Saturday night. Three men burst into a house occupied by five Polish workers at White Bridge Manor, a medium sized housing estate, on the eastern outskirts of Killarney, at around midnight.
One of the occupants, a 55-year-old man, was assaulted and suffered head injuries.
He managed to escape from the house and gardaí were called to the scene. The man was taken to Kerry General Hospital where he was detained yesterday.
The Polish workers are believed to be employed at a joinery on the Cork-Kerry border.
Gardaí are investigating the possibility the men who broke into the house were also non-nationals, possibly fellow Poles.
The house was yesterday sealed off and the scene of the assault preserved.
Garda technical experts were examining it.
