The baby daughter of a man shot dead in his living room in Dublin was found sleeping upstairs in her cot, an inquest has heard.
It is not known how long the 17-month old baby was upstairs while her father’s body lay downstairs because the exact time of the shooting has not been established, it emerged at the inquest in Dublin Coroner’s Court.
The man’s last known contact with anyone was 22 hours before his body was found.
Sean Cloherty (27) of Ashcroft Grove, Blakestown, Dublin was found dead in his home at 8.10pm on November 25th, 2008.
Multiple shots had been fired at the scene but neighbours heard nothing and gardaí have been unable to pinpoint the time of the shooting.
Mr Cloherty’s last known contact was with his girlfriend by phone at 10pm the previous night, November 24th.
Gardai found no indication he was alive the next day, Detective Inspector Colm Murphy told Dublin Coroner’s Court. “His child was due to go to a creche and that didn’t happen,” he said.
Karl Larkin, who bought and sold cars from the deceased, had arranged to meet Mr Cloherty on November 25th.
He went to his home after failing to contact him throughout the day and saw his body on a couch when he arrived at the house.
“I could see his feet and his head tilted to the side as if he was relaxing. As I looked closer something bright came on the TV and I could see blood at his mouth,” Mr Larkin said.
He dialled 999 and when gardaí arrived they found the child asleep in a cot upstairs.
The cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds to the chest. Mr Cloherty was sitting on the couch with the television on when he was shot dead, the inquest heard. The back door was open and there were mucky footprints entering the house from the back garden, Det Insp Murphy said.
Seamus Cloherty, who lives in Australia, said he was not aware of any threats to his brother’s life.
“I’d no idea what Sean was involved in...I’ve no idea who would want to kill Sean, I didn’t know any of his friends,” he said in a deposition read in court.
Gardai collected 370 statements and conducted 800 lines of inquiry but no suspects were found. The murder weapon was never located. The Garda file remains open.
Mr Cloherty’s former partner, Antoinette Carroll, said she could not recall if he was in fear of his life.
“I can’t remember to be honest, it was eight years ago,” she told the coroner, Dr Brian Farrell.
Dr Farrell said: “We don’t know what happened, no car was seen speeding away and because the matter remains open and nobody has been charged we are only taking limited information today.”
The jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing by a person or persons unknown.