A neighbour of a Limerick man whose murder is being investigated by gardaí has described seeing bloodstains on the walls and floor on a visit to his flat.
The body of Martin Clancy (45) was discovered shortly before 6pm on Sunday, at his upstairs flat at Little O’Curry Street, Limerick.
Gardaí initially said they were treating the death as suspicious, and on Monday evening upgraded it to a murder inquiry.
A post mortem by the State Pathologist, Professor Marie Cassidy, showed that Mr Clancy had been stabbed to death.
Superintendent Derek Smart of Henry Street Garda Station, who is leading the investigation, said gardaí were appealing for anyone “who may have seen Martin in the city centre area, or up near his home in Little O’Curry Street since January 1st” to contact them.
Gardaí believe Mr Clancy may have been dead for up to a week before his body was discovered.
As gardaí try to piece together Mr Clancy’s final movements, Romanian national Daniel Nedelcu, who lives in a flat beneath Mr Clancy, said he called at the deceased’s home to inform him he had returned from a trip to his native country over the new year period.
“I saw some blood on the walls and on the floor, but I didn’t look around to check. I just left the food, and I came out,” Mr Nedelcu said on Monday.
Speaking outside the property, which had been sealed off by gardaí, Mr Nedelcu said he had previously asked Mr Clancy on December 28th last to keep an eye on his flat as he was leaving on a trip to Romania for a family funeral.
Upon his return, Mr Nedelcu said he called to Mr Clancy’s flat, to tell him he had got back, and because he said he noticed it was unusually quiet in Mr Clancy’s flat.
Lived alone
Mr Clancy lived alone with his dog. “I didn’t hear any noise. Usually there are some noises… the dog or something; [there was] nothing,” Mr Nedelcu said.
“I went upstairs to let him know I am back. I saw the door kind of broken. I opened it a bit, but the dog started barking and I closed it back,” he said.
“But the dog was still upstairs. I decided to give some food to the dog, to feed it. I went upstairs. I walked through the hall, and his living room was there, and I put the food for the dog there.
“I saw some blood on the walls and on the floor, but I didn’t look around to check. I just left the [dog] food, and I came out. That’s all,” he added.
Mr Nedelcu said two people called to the property on Sunday evening asking to speak to Mr Clancy. “They were trying to contact him for the last few days and... he doesn’t answer.”
One of the two females discovered Mr Clancy’s body, he said. “She went upstairs but she came straight back in a second. She found him dead.
“She started to [phone] his brothers, because they came in a few minutes. After that, the ambulance and the guards came.”
Asked if there was a lot of blood in the flat, he replied: “It was dry; dry on the wall, and on the floor. I think it’s blood – I don’t know.”
“[There] was a lot,” he added.
Crime scene
Officers attached to the National Garda Technical Bureau carried out a forensic examination of the flat on Monday.
Meanwhile, gardaí successfully applied for a District Court order granting them a further 48 hours in which they could continue to designate the house a crime scene.
State Pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy carried out a preliminary examination of Mr Clancy’s body at his flat around lunchtime before performing a postmortem at University Hospital Limerick.
Mr Nedelcu (50), who has lived at the property for the past two months, described Mr Clancy as “a very quiet guy, a very nice guy”.
“I didn’t see him having any problems,” he said.
Neighbours and friends laid flowers outside the property.
Gardaí appealed for witnesses to contact Henry Street Garda station at (061) 212400, or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800-666-111.