A postmortem examination on the body of a 47-year-old man who was killed in Tralee, Co Kerry, on Saturday has revealed that he died from a stab wound to the chest.
Gardaí were yesterday continuing to investigate the death of the 2.08m (6ft 10in) man who was an asylum seeker from Georgia.
He died in hospital on Saturday afternoon after a row at an apartment complex used to house asylum seekers in the town centre.
It is understood he had been in Tralee since August and lived at Atlas House.
Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margot Bolster carried out the postmortem in Kerry General Hospital yesterday. Gardaí were last night searching for a knife or other sharp implement.
The man left his accommodation to visit Westward Court at 2pm. The altercation occurred half an hour later at the apartment complex in Mary Street in the town centre.
The scene was yesterday preserved for technical examination.
With the help of interpreters, gardaí were interviewing a number of people who were in the vicinity at the time. They appealed yesterday for witnesses to come forward.
Gardaí had not formally named the victim last night.
They were trying to make contact with his next of kin in the former Soviet republic of Georgia.
Crime statistics for the first three-quarters of the year published last week by the Department of Justice revealed a 39 per cent increase, to 39 cases, in the number of murders in the first nine months of the year compared with the same period last year, when 28 cases were recorded.
Since the end of last month there have been three further murders, bringing the total for 2005 to 42.
As well as the latest case over the weekend, a Tipperary man was murdered in Clonmel on Saturday October 1st.
The body of Fergus Roche (30), a single man from Cooleens Close, Clonmel, was taken from a burning house at Heywood Close in the town. He had been stabbed.
Garda inquiries are continuing.
Eight days ago gardaí in Cork began a murder investigation after the body of Lithuanian man Gintaras Balcionas (38) was discovered face down in the garden of his flat at Rockgrove Terrace on the Lower Glanmire Road. He died as a result on head injuries.
If current trends continue for the remainder of the year, the number of murders in the State looks set to climb towards the recent highs of 52 cases in both 2001 and 2002.
In 1998 and 1999, 38 murders were recorded. There were 39 in 2000, then 52 in the next two years. In 2003 the murder rate fell to 45 and 36 last year.
Meanwhile, gardaí in Mullingar are awaiting the results of a full postmortem, due this morning, before confirming whether they are seeking anybody in connection with the death of man whose body was found near Castlepollard yesterday.
The body was found in a lane off the Castlepollard Road at 11am by ESB workers.