A memorial service took place in Dublin yesterday for the murdered Romanian man whose body was found in a suitcase in the Royal Canal last month.
Up to 100 people attended the ceremony in the Greek Orthodox Church at Arbour Hill to offer support to the family of Mr Adrian Bestea (21). Leading the mourners was the victim's mother, Mrs Marianna Moraru, who arrived in Dublin last week from Bucharest. She was accompanied by family friends, members of the local Romanian community and senior gardai involved in the murder inquiry.
Father Ireneu Craciun, a Romanian national who led the ceremony, said Mrs Moraru wished to express her gratitude to the Garda, the media and the Irish public for their help and support.
Almost £1,000 has been collected by the Romanian community in Ireland to help to fund the return of Mr Bestea's body to Romania for burial. It is believed, however, the family needs four times this to pay all costs.
"People have been very generous and hopefully in a few days we will have enough money for the funeral to take place," said a spokesman for the community group.
Gardai are working with Interpol to try to find Mr Bestea's Russian girlfriend in whose flat traces of his blood were found. They are also trying to find several men who allegedly threatened him.
Mr Bestea's body was found on July 20th but only identified weeks later. It is believed he may have been dead for up to 12 days before his body was discovered.