Man charged with murder after body is found in shed

MAN was last night charged with murder after the blood-soaked body of a British man was found in a garden shed.

Timothy O’Driscoll (33) was charged before a special sitting of Cork District Court last night.

Gardai are now trying to confirm precisely what Lee McCarthy (25) was doing at St Rita’s Avenue in Gurranabraher in Cork on Saturday when he was killed.  It is understood the man died from a stab wound.

Forensic evidence will be crucial in determining precisely where Mr McCarthy suffered the fatal assault, as it remains unclear whether the attack occurred where his body was later discovered.  A native of London, Mr McCarthy had moved to Cork several months ago.

Judge Brian Sheridan was told by Inspector Gary McPolin that gardai were applying for Mr O’Driscoll to be remanded in custody to appear again before Cork District Court tomorrow.  Defence solicitor Frank Buttimer said he was applying for free legal aid for his client, who is on disability benefit and is of restricted means.  He requested that his client receive any medical attention he may require while in custody.

Mr Buttimer also asked that his client be provided with whatever medicines he may require.  The judge remanded Mr O’Driscoll, of St Rita’s Avenue in Gurranabraher, to appear again before the District Court tomorrow and directed that the defence requests be passed on to the prison authorities.  Mr McCarthy’s body was discovered in the garden shed at the rear of a terraced house in St Rita’s Avenue, shortly before 7am on Saturday

The Irish Independent understands that Mr McCarthy had no obvious connection to the address where his body was found.  He has extended family in the Cork area and had been living at an address on Pope’s Quay in the city centre. Detectives now want to determine precisely why he was at the scene and whether anyone in the area was known to him.

Blood-soaked

Gardai in Gurranabraher received a phone call from a householder at 6.40am on Saturday and went to a house at St Rita’s Avenue, where they discovered the blood-soaked body slumped in the garden shed.  The victim is believed to have sustained the fatal stab wound sometime in a 12-hour period prior to his discovery.  Initially, gardai found it difficult to name Mr McCarthy because he had no items of identification. However, he was formally identified on Saturday evening following a media appeal by gardai for assistance from the public.

Assistant state pathologist Margaret Bolster conducted a preliminary examination at the house before the body was taken to Cork University Hospital for a post-mortem examination. A murder probe was launched when it was confirmed that Mr McCarthy died from a stab wound.

Meanwhile, a Polish man was fighting for his life last night after suffering horrific head injuries in a Cork city centre assault.  The 32-year-old was attacked and struck on the back of the head with a bottle at Lower Oliver Plunkett Street at 6.30pm on Saturday.  The man, who had been socialising in Cork, was knocked unconscious and was brought to Cork University Hospital by ambulance, where he underwent emergency surgery to ease pressure on his brain.  However, the man was later placed on a life-support machine. He also suffered minor cut injuries.

Gardai arrested a 25-year-old man for questioning in connection with the incident.