THE sister of the Cork murder victim, Mr Thomas Harte (40), believes he was beaten to death for his watch. A birthday present last December, the watch was missing when his body was discovered in a derelict house on Tuesday.
Gardai have interviewed a number of people and have appealed for anyone who might have been in the Leitrim Street area on Monday night or early Tuesday morning to contact them.
Mr Harte, who lived with his mother, Anne, in a flat at Allen Square, Ballymacthomas, in the city, was occasionally depressed and spent much of his time walking aimlessly around the city, according to Ms Paula Harrington from Blackpool, Cork.
She believes he was lured to the house where he was beaten to death between 6 p.m. on Monday and 1 a.m. on Tuesday. "We gave him a gift of a watch that cost £30 for his birthday a few months ago. It was missing when his body was found and I believe he was killed for it," she said.
Mr Harte, who was epileptic, gave up working in the Blackpool Community Centre to look after his mother when she became housebound. "He was devoted to my mother and no matter where he was or what he was doing, he was always home by 10 p.m. to help her to bed," Ms Harrington said.
Mr Harte's removal took place to the North Cathedral last night and he will be buried at St Michael's cemetery today. He is survived by his mother, two brothers and three sisters.