An Irishman is being held by police in Panama in connection with the murder of another Irishman two weeks ago.
Mr Maxim Conroy (32), a businessman from Blessington, Co Wicklow, was fatally stabbed outside his home in Panama City.
He was a manager with the Panama branch of the multinational communications company, Cable and Wireless.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that an Irishman is being held "under suspicion" as part of the Panamanian police's investigation into the murder. It is understood that the man being held was a close friend of the victim. Maxim's father, Mr Frank Conroy, is a senior official with the ESB and his mother, Laura, an artist. They have five other younger children.
In a statement Mr Conroy said the family was "heartbroken by what has happened. We are broken up over it," he said.
Educated at Dublin City University, Maxim Conroy is said to have been regarded as one of the college's "high flyers" with a bright future in computer science.
He took up a position with Cable and Wireless after graduating and worked for the company in the Caribbean island of St Lucia. He was transferred to Panama in 1997.
There he co-ordinated the implementation of a new computer system and was recently appointed director of information systems.
Removal from Clarke's Funeral Home, Blessington, Co Wicklow, is tomorrow at 2.30 p.m. to the Church of Mount Carmel, Lacken, Blessington, Co Wicklow, for a funeral Mass at 3 p.m.
Burial will take place afterwards in Templeboden Cemetery, Lacken.
