Gardai in Carlow opened a murder investigation yesterday after a youth died from stab wounds following an altercation outside his home.
Mr Warren Slater (17) of Granby Row was stabbed in the neck, arm and back with a kitchen knife at about 3.30 a.m. He died at the scene.
Mr Slater was from Carlow but had moved into a flat in Granby Row with his girlfriend, Ms Louise Heary (19), and their six-month-old daughter, Aileen, just three weeks ago.
A man was arrested at the scene of the incident and taken to Carlow Garda station for questioning. The street of terraced houses is close to Carlow Institute of Technology and is in an area heavily populated by students.
Gardai believe Mr Slater, who was unemployed, had gone into town on Saturday evening with a group of students who lived in the same street. He returned to the students' house, which was visited early yesterday by Ms Heary.
An argument developed in the street in which a number of people were involved and which resulted in Mr Slater receiving the fatal stab wounds. Gardai were alerted at 3.40 a.m., and an ambulance was called, but efforts to save Mr Slater's life were unsuccessful.
The scene was sealed off, and a preliminary examination was carried out later yesterday by the Deputy State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy. Mr Slater's body was then removed to Naas Mortuary where a post-mortem examination by Dr Cassidy confirmed that Mr Slater died from stab wounds.
Supt Gerry Cadden of Carlow said there were a number of witnesses to the incident, and gardai were satisfied with the level of co-operation from the public. He asked, however, for anyone who was in the Granby Row area between 2.30 a.m. and 4 a.m. to contact Carlow Garda station at 0503-31505.
Gardai were also anxious to piece together Mr Slater's movements in the lead-up to the incident. It is thought likely he visited one or a number of pubs in the town on Saturday evening, but his exact movements were not known. House-to-house inquiries were being conducted by gardai yesterday.
Friends of the dead man left about a dozen bouquets of flowers outside his home. Neighbours said they did not know Mr Slater well, as he had not lived in the street for long. An elderly woman said most of her neighbours were students, "and you never get to know them because they don't stay for long.
"I used to see them [Mr Slater and his girlfriend] with their baby outside the house from time to time. They were very attentive to the child. I never spoke to them, though," she said.
