A 27-year-old man has been remanded in custody after he was charged with the assault of a man whose body was found in a rented house on the Tipperary-Limerick border early on Wednesday morning.
Tomasz Rozpeda was charged at a special sitting of Nenagh District Court on Saturday with assault causing harm to Maciej Nowak (32) at Ballycrana, Kilcross, Co Tipperary, between December 26th and December 27th, contrary to section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.
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Det Garda Kevin O’Keeffe of Tipperary Town Garda station gave evidence of arresting Mr Rozpeda of no fixed abode outside Tipperary Town Garda Station at 11.48pm on Friday. He said the accused made no reply to the charge when it was put to him after caution.
Insp Helen Costello said gardaí were seeking a remand in custody to next Wednesday and were awaiting the Director of Public Prosecutions’ instructions on the matter. Mr Rozpeda’s solicitor, Vincent McCormack, said his client was not making any application for bail at this stage but may do so at a future court sitting.
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Judge Elizabeth MacGrath noted that Mr Rozpeda was reserving his position in relation to bail, and she granted the Garda application, remanding him in custody to appear in person again at Nenagh District Court next Wednesday while she also granted him free legal aid after he submitted a statement of means.
A native of Poland, Mr Rozpeda, who was dressed in a grey tracksuit top and bottoms and sneakers, was assisted by a Polish interpreter throughout. He did not speak during the hearing which lasted less than five minutes before Judge MacGrath.
The charge follows an investigation by gardaí into the circumstances of the death of fellow Polish national, construction worker Maciej Novak. He was found unresponsive at his rented home at Ballycrana near Kilcross at about 4am on Wednesday by gardaí when they called to the property.
Mr Nowak, who celebrated his 32nd birthday on St Stephen’s Day, was pronounced dead at the scene by a local doctor and his body was later removed to University Hospital Waterford for a postmortem examination which gardaí say has informed their investigation.
Meanwhile, the house at Ballycrana where Mr Nowak was found remains cordoned-off since Friday as detectives from the Garda Technical Bureau continue to examine the house for DNA and other evidence. Gardaí also seized a number of mobile phones as part of their investigation and Garda technical experts have been examining them to see if they can provide any information that could assist detectives.
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