The family of a pensioner murdered in his home in Cork early last month appealed yesterday for a man who has already contacted gardaí to assist with the investigation into his death.
John Hornibrook and his sister Sarah said the murder of their uncle Gussie (73) has caused trauma for their family, particularly for their 81-year-old father Bobby, who found his brother dead at his home at Templeacre Avenue, Gurranebraher, Cork, on November 6th.
"My father is feeling it the worst - he's very angry over it and what's bugging him is that no one is caught yet for it. Himself and Gussie were very close and he used to check on Gussie every day, so it's hitting him the hardest," said Mr Hornibrook.
Gussie Hornibrook was found with his hands and legs tied in a downstairs room of the terraced house and although he showed no signs of injury, gardaí believe he was either suffocated or died from a heart attack while being suffocated.
Sheila Hornibrook told of the family's shock at learning what had happened . "I was down at my sister Sheila's house and my father came down and said he had found Gussie dead. He was old and frail, but we never thought he'd die in those circumstances.
"We went back up with my dad and it was a total shock to us there to see him tied up. How my father didn't get a heart attack when he found him like that I don't know, because it was an awful shock to us to see Gussie like that," she said. Ms Hornibrook explained that her uncle had suffered "from his nerves" over the years and lived a simple, reclusive existence, but contrary to earlier media reports that he never spoke to anyone, he did chat to people, but only those he knew.
Mr Hornibrook revealed that his late uncle had become very dependent on his father after he was mugged some 13 years ago.
"After the mugging, he got very nervous and wouldn't handle money himself, so he used to give his pension to my dad and my dad would pay the rent or get what he needed - killing him was just senseless and there was no need to tie him he was gone so frail," he said.
They are hoping an anonymous caller who rang gardaí investigating the killing and spoke to Garda Derek Mulcahy on November 7th last will contact gardaí again because he had valuable information.
"Who knows what sort of pressure he might be under, but it's important that he contacts the gardaí.
"In fact, anyone with any information, even if it seems insignificant and trivial, we would ask them to contact gardaí because it might turn out to be important," said Mr Hornibrook.
"It's frustrating that that man hasn't come forward, but we're hoping that the gardaí will catch who is responsible. I've met a lot of people in the area and a lot of them, not just old people, are very nervous. If they can do it to somebody like Gussie, they can do it to anybody."
Anyone with any information is asked to ring Gurranebraher Garda station 021-4946200.
