Gardaí expect charges in south Dublin stabbing death

Victim (42) found dead by his father in hallway of Rathfarnham property

Gardaí believe they have identified the killer of a man stabbed to death in his home, and expect to bring criminal charges as early as today.

Tyrone McKenna, a 43-year-old with an address in Rathfarnham, south Dublin, was found with stab wounds at the bottom of the stairs in the house he shared with his father.

A single man, he had been in a relationship for a brief period with a female foreign national who had been a visitor to the house in recent months.

His remains were discovered on Thursday evening when the dead man's father returned to the property at Marley Court South.

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The alarm was raised and when gardaí and paramedics arrived, Mr McKenna was pronounced dead at the scene.

The house was sealed off and the body remained there overnight.

This morning, Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis carried out a preliminary examination of the body at the scene before it was removed for a full postmortem.

The results of that examination were not being released last night, though Garda sources said Mr McKenna has been stabbed in the back and has sustained a number of wounds.

There was a large amount of blood in the hallway and on the stairs and gardaí believe Mr McKenna may have been stabbed upstairs before trying to come down, possibly to call for help, but he succumbed to his injuries.

Detectives are operating on the theory that Mr McKenna knew his killer.

He was involved in a publishing organisation called the Refugee Press which aims to give refugees and asylum seekers an outlet to express themselves through poetry and prose.

Immediately Mr McKenna’s body was found, gardaí identified a person of interest they wanted to speak to about the killing.

Initial efforts to locate her were not successful, but she was then arrested this morning and remains in Garda custody tonight.

She was being questioned under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act and can be held for up to 24 hours without charge.

Gardaí had last night extended her questioning for a second six-hour period, with a further 12 hours available to them if needed.

The property where the killing took place underwent an examination by members of the Garda Technical Bureau today.

Conor Lally

Conor Lally

Conor Lally is Security and Crime Editor of The Irish Times