Gardaí have launched a murder investigation after the body of man with serious head injuries was found under a bridge in Athlone, Co Westmeath, yesterday.
The man, believed to be in his 50s, was found by a passer-by in a pedestrian underpass close to the banks of the Shannon at around 8 a.m.
The Deputy State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy,last night completed a post-mortem which revealed that the body was repeatedly struck in the head in what gardaí described as a vicious attack.
Detectives say they have no firm line of inquiry at this stage, although they believe the deceased was not a local.
The area where the body was discovered, in the vicinity of Athlone Castle, is relatively busy and is close to a number of restaurants.
Detectives have called on anyone who was in the area in the hours leading up to the discovery of the body to contact the Garda.
Gardaí say the body, which was reportedly found lying face-down, suffered severe and substantial injuries. Detectives were quick to play down suicide as a likely cause of death.
Supt Pádraig Rattigan, who is leading the investigation, also appealed for a woman who made a phone call to the Garda, alerting them to the location of the body, to come forward to provide further information which could be of use to detectives.
The Garda's technical bureau yesterday inspected two areas, including one adjacent to the pedestrian tunnel where some glass debris was found.
One garda said the murder investigation was still at a very early stage and there was no suspects yet.
"The investigation is wide open and we're keeping an open mind," said one garda.
Dr Cassidy carried out a preliminary examination of the scene and the body was later moved to Longford/Westmeath General Hospital in Mullingar for the post-mortem.
Even before the post-mortem results were released last night, gardaí had been treating the death as suspicious and were quick to rule out suicide as a likely cause of death.
Latest official figures show there were 44 violent deaths in the State this year, compared with a total of just over 60 last year.
Local gardaí say it is the first violent death in this locality in almost two years. Residents in the area expressed shock at the murder in what is an enclosed area regularly used by pedestrians.
The identity of the man had not been established last night and gardaí in Athlone said they were not aware of anyone missing in the neighbourhood.
