A man was arrested by gardai in Waterford yesterday evening after a day-long investigation into the death of Mr Seamus Tubritt (37) whose body was found with stab wounds to the chest in a house in the Ballybeg estate on the outskirts of the city.
The man was detained for questioning under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. Gardai had interviewed a series of people following the death of Mr Tubritt, an unemployed single man originally from Pearse Park in Waterford.
Mr Tubritt's body was found when gardai went to a local authority house at Ardmore Park in Ballybeg after a telephone caller contacted the ambulance service at 2.44 a.m. yesterday. A local doctor was called to the house and pronounced Mr Tubritt dead at the scene.
A man and a woman present at the house when gardai arrived were among a number of people subsequently interviewed at Ballybricken Garda station. Gardai said further interviews would take place today.
Officers of the Garda Technical Bureau arrived from Dublin during the afternoon and began an examination of the scene. A number of items, including a knife, were removed from the house.
The State Pathologist, Prof John Harbison, carried out a preliminary examination of the body and a post-mortem was to take place at Waterford Regional Hospital last night.
Residents in nearby streets expressed shock at the incident. They said the dead man, whose most recent address was in William Street in the city, had been a regular visitor at the house. He is believed to have joined a social gathering there hours before his death.