The death of an elderly man and woman who were discovered dead in their home in south Dublin on Monday is being treated as “not suspicious” by gardaí.
The bodies of Sydney and Lorna Graham, both in their late 80s, were discovered on Monday evening in their house in Landscape Park, Churchtown. They were found by relatives when attempts to contact them by phone failed.
A doctor examined the couple at the scene and their bodies were removed to the City Mortuary in Marino. A postmortem was carried out on Wednesday but the results were “inconclusive”, according to gardaí.
Investigations earlier in the week had centred on the possibility that the couple were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning. However, a Garda spokesman said on Thursday it didn’t look likely the couple had died of the gas poisoning.
An inquest into the couple’s death is due to be brought before the Coroner’s Court.
One neighbour who asked not to be named, said: “They kept themselves to themselves really. The husband in particular kept himself in great health, and was in great shape for his age.”
“They were fairly reserved. They’re nice neighbours who we would have bumped into regularly,” he said.
Neighbours say the couple was last seen alive between 24 and 48 hours before they were discovered. A Garda spokesman said they may have been there for a number of days.
According to neighbours, Mr and Mrs Graham had lived in the area since the houses were built in the 1950s.
A woman who lives in the area said they were a “lovely couple” and that Mr Graham could often be seen cycling his bicycle. He was “a very nice gentleman”, she said.
Barry Flood, who operates the Churchtown Hardware Store, said the pair would have been in the shop regularly.
“They lived just behind the shop and would walk in, wouldn’t normally bring the car,” he said. “They were nice people, inoffensive and easy to get on with. It’s sad, really.”
