A murder hunt was under way last night in a quiet Co Cork village after a man died early yesterday from stab wounds suffered when investigating the sound of breaking glass in his council home.
Mr John Heelam (52), originally from Birmingham, was asleep in his home at Berkeley Court, Cloyne, Co Cork, when he and his partner, Ms Bridie Flynn (72), were wakened at 3 a.m. by an intruder who gained entry by breaking a front-door pane of glass.
Mr Heelam went to investigate but seconds later staggered back into the bedroom covered in blood. It is understood he attempted to make a telephone call to alert gardai but collapsed on the floor.
Ms Flynn rang 999, and Mr Heelam was rushed by ambulance to Cork University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5 a.m.
Garda technical experts at the scene found a knife, which was later being forensically examined. A man arrested under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, was taken to Midleton Garda station for questioning.
Ms Flynn said that when Mr Heelam went to investigate the noise he did not appear to have argued with the intruder, and there was no commotion or noise to suggest a struggle. Mr Heelam, she added, just staggered back into the room covered in blood.
" `Oh, my God, John, what happened?' I gasped, and he mumbled something I couldn't really understand. I saw a pool of blood near the door. John tried to make it to the telephone but he was unable to make the call, so I rang 999 instead. He was the only real friend I had and he had been looking after me because I have been bed-ridden for several years. Now, the only true friend I have is gone," Ms Flynn added.
Neighbours of Mr Heelam described him as a quiet-spoken man who had looked after Ms Flynn and provided for her. Neighbours said they were too shocked to discuss the stabbing and said villagers could hardly comprehend what had happened.
Gardai have established an incident room at Midleton Garda station, and a team of forensic experts from Dublin was expected to arrive in the village yesterday afternoon.
Up to 15 gardai under Supt Liam Hayes began house-to-house inquiries, and anyone with information is asked to contact Midleton gardai.
The Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, conducted a post-mortem examination, and it is expected preliminary results will be available to gardai over the weekend.
