Gardaí treating death of man (58) in New Ross as murder after receiving postmortem results

Gardaí investigating the death of a man in Co Wexford have upgraded the case to a murder inquiry after a postmortem revealed the victim died after being assaulted.

The deceased, named locally as John O’Connor, was 58-years-old and from the New Ross area, where he sustained his fatal injuries on New Year’s Eve.

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of assaulting the victim, with one released without charge on Wednesday afternoon. However, the other man, who is in his 30s and known to gardaí, remains in custody.

The alarm was raised shortly after 11am on New Year’s Eve when the emergency services were called to a house on the Cluain Fada estate in New Ross in response to reports that a man had been injured.

When gardaí and paramedics arrived they found Mr O’Connor in an unresponsive state. He was pronounced dead a short time later at the scene. Gardaí immediately sealed off the property on arrival there on Tuesday morning and a criminal investigation commenced, with all of the resources of a homicide inquiry committed to the case.

Garda headquarters on Wednesday said a postmortem on the remains of Mr O’Connor had resulted in the case being upgraded to a murder inquiry.

Before the results of the postmortem, carried out by State Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan, were received, gardaí had not ruled out the possibility Mr O’Connor died from an underlying health issue after being assaulted.

The first man arrested, and who remained in Garda custody on Wednesday evening, was detained in the vicinity of the crime scene early on Tuesday. The second man arrested was taken into custody later in the evening but has since been released without charge.

The suspect who remains in custody, who is understood to be from Co Wexford, has a history of violent offending and dozens of previous criminal convictions, including for assault. He was recently released from prison. He knew the deceased as both had connections to the New Ross area.

The investigating team has appealed to witnesses to come forward in an attempt to establish Mr O’Connor’s last movements and whether he was in the company of others in the period leading up to his death. Gardaí are keen to hear from anyone who may have been recording video footage around the Cluain Fada estate in the period just before 11am on Tuesday, including motorists using dashcams.

A senior investigating officer is leading the inquiry from an incident room established at New Ross Garda station. A family liaison officer has also been assigned to support the victim’s family and keep them informed of progress in the case.