Gardaí believe several people were at a house in Lucan, Co Dublin, when a dispute broke out at a social gathering leading to a fatal attack over the bank holiday weekend.
The dead man has been named locally as 49-year-old Juris Kokenbergs, who was from Latvia. Gardaí were on Tuesday still continuing to question a man in his 20s known to the victim.
While the investigation into the fatal assault was still in its early stages, gardaí are working on the theory that a dispute broke out after a lot of alcohol had been consumed. They believe Mr Kokenbergs was then subjected to a sustained violent attack.
Gardaí became aware of the incident when they were alerted on Monday morning and, though paramedics were also dispatched to the property, the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The suspect was also detained on Monday.
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Gardaí believe other people were in the house, including a woman, when a dispute broke out, which resulted in the fatal attack. The incident appears to have been spur of the moment and gardaí believe the dead man was beaten, rather than attacked with weapons, inside the rented semidetached property.
The alarm was raised just after 8am on Monday when gardaí received a call that there had been a disturbance at the property, on a residential estate, though it was unclear precisely when the fatal attack took place.
The remains of Mr Kokenbergs were removed to the Dublin City Mortuary on Monday afternoon and the scene was preserved.
The property has been sealed off as a crime scene and the Garda Technical Bureau was due to carry out an examination through Monday.
Garda forensics experts removed items in evidence bags from the property through Monday as they were taken away for examination.
“One male, aged in his 20s, has been arrested and is currently detained under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at a Garda station in west Dublin,” Garda Headquarters said.
The killing is being investigated by gardaí based in Lucan station, with a senior investigating officer appointed to lead the inquiry. A family liaison officer is also being appointed to support the deceased’s family.
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