GARDAÍ INVESTIGATING the death of Christy Hanley, the 83-year-old man found dead in his home in Kilbeggan, Co Westmeath, on Thursday morning, believe whoever attacked him did not intend to kill him.
Detectives are working on the theory that somebody known to Mr Hanley, or who befriended him, tied him up and subjected him to an assault while robbing him that would not usually be severe enough to cause death.
Gardaí believe at least one person, possibly two, have vital information that would solve the crime.
"We hope they'll have a crisis of conscience and come forward," said one Garda source.
Detectives are anxious to trace a man seen in Mr Hanley's company in Kilbeggan last Wednesday night. They are also anxious to speak to a man who called gardaí from a payphone in Dublin's north inner city, alerting them to the fact that Mr Hanley had been left tied up in his home.
The Irish Times understands the caller simply told gardaí the pensioner was tied up and gave no indication he believed he was dead.
The postmortem examination was inconclusive. However, gardaí are satisfied that while Mr Hanley had a number of marks to his face consistent with an assault, he did not die from those injuries. They believe whoever tied him up wanted to rob him rather than kill him.
Mr Hanley was a well-known character in Kilbeggan and performed card tricks and sold horses. He made some money in the days before his death from the sale of horses. On the night before he died he visited a local pub, where he exchanged coins for notes. Gardaí believe the robbery of that money is at the centre of the case.
After Mr Hanley's funeral yesterday, Supt Aidan Glacken from Athlone Garda station renewed an appeal for the public's help.
He said gardaí were particularly anxious to speak to a man, aged between 30 and 40, who had been seen in Mr Hanley's company several times on Wednesday. He was wearing a navy tracksuit top, light blue denim jeans and a navy baseball cap with a white peak. He was also carrying a blue rucksack.
"At this stage we are anxious to speak to that man, just to trace him, [ see] who he is, and to interview him," Supt Glacken said.
He said the two men had been seen in a number of pubs and on the street in Kilbeggan.
"We are satisfied that Christy Hanley was seen up to close to six o'clock last Wednesday evening, and we have a number of sightings in the hours before that of Christy Hanley with a number of people, and we've interviewed and spoken to a number of people who had interaction with Christy. This is the one person we haven't spoken to yet."
Athlone gardaí can be contacted on 090-6492600.