Police in Prague do not believe that the young Irish farmer who was found dead in a public park on Sunday was murdered, his family was told yesterday. There were no signs of injury to the body or any indication that he had been assaulted.
The results of an autopsy on the body of Mr Michael O'Leary (23), from Callan, Co Kilkenny, found that he had died from a combination of alcohol and some form of medication, the police said.
His body was discovered in a public park some distance from Prague's main tourist district in the early hours of Sunday morning after police were alerted by a phone call.
When police arrived at the scene they found Mr O'Leary already dead and a friend, Mr Padraig McNally, lying unconscious.
The two were taking part in a Macra na Feirme-sponsored trip to Prague at the weekend, said Mr T.J. Maher, the Macra president. They had been part of a Co Kilkenny Macra group enjoying themselves in a pub in the city at about 4 a.m. last Sunday.
"The others made their way home and the two boys were left," Mr Maher said. "The others are convinced that their drink was spiked."
Both men were taken to hospital, where an autopsy was performed on Mr O'Leary. The autopsy could not determine the precise nature or quantity of any medication in the body. The family was told that a full toxicology report would not be available for up to a week.
The others in the Macra group did not know of the incident until they received a call from the hospital and spoke to Mr McNally. At that stage he did not know that his friend was dead.
In spite of being questioned, Mr McNally had been unable to give the police much information, Mr Maher said. He had been found in a "drug-induced coma".
The belongings of the two men - including identification papers - were missing when they were found. A young Co Laois woman in the group had cash and credit cards stolen on the same night in the same place, Mr Maher said. He explained that the Macra members had met socially earlier the same night.
Mr Maher and senior colleagues in Macra, who met the group on its return from Prague last night, expressed fears that the two men had their drinks spiked and were subsequently robbed. Both were described as well-travelled and capable of taking care of themselves.
"It's an unwritten rule of Macra trips that no one is to be left on their own. The others would have wandered off believing they were all right in each other's company", Mr Maher added.