Gardaí are investigating the death of a well-known criminal whose remains have been found in a drain beside the burnt-out shell of a caravan in Co Offaly.
The deceased’s body was found in the drain near Clara just before 9am and the man’s car, which was parked nearby, had also been set on fire.
Gardaí are working on theory that the dead man, who has been a missing person for a number of days, be had been living in the caravan that had been set alight. While the cause of the man’s death is not yet known, all of the resources of a murder investigation have been committed to the inquiry.
The man is not being named by The Irish Times at this time until all relatives have been informed.
However, he is a 47-year-old from the Clara area who has a lengthy criminal history
He was most recently convicted for false imprisonment 14 months ago and jailed for six years. However, three years of that sentence was suspended and when the term was backdated to include the lengthy period he had spent in prison on remand awaiting his trial date.
He also had previous convictions for assault causing harm, robbery, public order and assaults with varying degrees of violence.
He was also questioned some years ago about a serious offence following allegations made by the victim to the Garda. However, not criminal charges were ever pursued against him arising from those allegations.
The area when the man’s remains were found and where his caravan and car had been set on fire have been sealed off by gardaí.
The State Pathologist’s Office has been informed and the man’s body is still at the scene. It will undergo a preliminary examination at the scene before being removed for a full post-mortem.
