GARDAÍ HAVE upgraded their investigation into the suspicious death of Kilbeggan pensioner Christy Hanley to a murder case after concluding the 83-year-old had been attacked.
Following a lengthy postmortem and a preliminary inquiry, Supt Aidan Glacken confirmed the victim was assaulted and this contributed to his death.
“This is a tragic thing to have happened in the community.
“We are satisfied we are dealing with a murder and we have a reasonable picture, developed from the scene and the body, of what might have happened,” Supt Glacken said.
He said full Garda resources were committed to finding those responsible, including DNA expertise “and all other capabilities”.
Official confirmation that “harmless” Mr Hanley was beaten are likely to further deepen fears among the elderly community in Kilbeggan, Co Westmeath.
Local priest Fr Bernard Maxwell said older people living alone in the town were “terrified”. A spate of robberies took place in Kilbeggan a number of years ago, but had ceased since. He told how a 90-year-old man in the small town was too afraid to sleep because he was scared of burglars and instead sat up during the night.
Supt Glacken outlined that Christy Hanley had “suffered a number of injuries” although he would not disclose any specific details.
The superintendent renewed his appeal to the person who first called gardaí about the death of Mr Hanley on Thursday morning to contact them again, and asked for those who were in the company of Mr Hanley on Wednesday to come forward.
He was anxious to hear from that person – who appeared to “have some intimate knowledge of what happened to Christy Hanley” – personally or through a third party, and that they could speak with officers again, in strict confidence.
Separately, Supt Glacken disclosed that the inquiry surrounding the suspicious death of Lillian Scanlon (48) in Athlone, Co Westmeath, two weeks ago has been progressing swiftly and detectives are almost in a position to complete a file on the matter and send it to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The mother-of-three was found dead in her kitchen and two people were arrested last week in relation to the incident.
“We are now satisfied we know the full circumstances of what led to the death of Lillian Scanlon,” said Supt Glacken.
Meanwhile, according to undertakers in the region, no funeral arrangements have been finalised for Mr Hanley, who was said to be from a Traveller background.
His sister, Hannah, died almost 12 months ago and Fr Maxwell said she was buried in a large family plot in nearby Tullamore.
Although Mr Hanley was well known and well liked, he was described by a number of people as a loner.
“Few people really knew him,” said Fr Maxwell.
“He was quite reserved and you wouldn’t see him in conversation with others.”
Anybody with information that may assist gardaí in the case is asked to contact Athlone Garda station on 090-6498550.