A 14-year-old boy injured during an alleged assault in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, last weekend has died at Cork University Hospital. A major Garda investigation is now under way, according to Supt Dick Burke. While no arrests have been made, one male has made a statement voluntarily.
The teenager, Brian Rossiter, who was originally from the Wilderness housing estate in Clonmel, had been recently living with his mother in Wexford.
However, he returned to Clonmel for a time last weekend and was taken to Cork University Hospital on Wednesday after falling ill at the town's Garda station.
The youth had spent the night at the station having been arrested between 9 and 10 p.m. on Tuesday.
Following regular checks during the night, it was noticed that the teenager was ill and he received medical attention at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, before being transferred to a local hospital. Due to the nature of his condition, he was later rushed to Cork University Hospital, where he was on a life-support machine until shortly after 5.30 p.m. yesterday when he was pronounced dead.
A post-mortem examination is to be conducted today by the assistant state pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, to ascertain whether injuries sustained in the alleged assault were linked to the boy's eventual death. The alleged violent incident involving the youth took place between 12 and 12.30 a.m. on Monday at Cashel Street in Clonmel.
This only came to light when the boy became ill as he showed no visible signs of the incident apart from a black eye and no report was initially made to gardaí.