Man found dead in tent cousin of Sandra Boyd shot dead in Finglas

Thomas Boyd found dead in tent in north inner city in early hours of Monday

Thomas Boyd’s remains were found in a tent at Loftus Lane between Bolton Street and Parnell Street in the north inner city at around 3am. Photograph: Dara Mac Donaill
Thomas Boyd’s remains were found in a tent at Loftus Lane between Bolton Street and Parnell Street in the north inner city at around 3am. Photograph: Dara Mac Donaill

A man found dead in a tent in central Dublin in the early hours of Monday was a cousin of Sandra Boyd, the mother of five shot dead at the family home in Finglas, north Dublin on Saturday night.

Thomas Boyd's remains were found in a tent at Loftus Lane between Bolton Street and Parnell Street in the north inner city at around 3am. It is understood he was a rough sleeper and gardaí are investigating the circumstances of his death, though third party involvement is not suspected.

Another member of the extended family, Josh Boyd (19), was killed in a road traffic crash on New Year's Day when his motorbike hit a lamppost in Ballymun, north Dublin. He was also a cousin of Sandra Boyd.

Thomas Boyd’s remains were found in a tent at Loftus Lane between Bolton Street and Parnell Street in the north inner city at around 3am. Photograph: Dara Mac Donaill
Thomas Boyd’s remains were found in a tent at Loftus Lane between Bolton Street and Parnell Street in the north inner city at around 3am. Photograph: Dara Mac Donaill

Meanwhile, a 27-year-old man arrested on suspicion of the murder of Ms Boyd, who had four sons and an infant daughter, was still being questioned by gardaí in Finglas on Wednesday.

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That man was known to Ms Boyd and was in the family home on Collins Place, Finglas, on Saturday night when a gun was discharged, fatally wounding her. The arrested man had left the house by the time gardaí arrived there at about 8.45pm on Saturday and gardaí were seeking him.

He was detained on Monday after presenting himself for medical treatment at a Dublin hospital.

The suspect was arrested on Monday under section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, which allows for the questioning of a suspect for up to seven days without charge.

Gardaí believe someone had taken the gun into the house on Collins Place and that it went off, fatally wounding Ms Boyd (36) in the upper body. She was taken by ambulance to the Mater Hospital, where she died on Saturday night.

Conor Lally

Conor Lally

Conor Lally is Security and Crime Editor of The Irish Times