Homeless man found dead in laneway had suffered major injuries to the head

Inquest told Claudiu Robu was formally identified as a result of matching a DNA sample from his brother, Emmanuel

A homeless man who was found dead in a laneway in Dublin in September suffered serious injuries to the head, Dublin Coroners Court has heard.

An inquest into the death of Claudiu Robu, a 39-year-old Romanian national, was told that a postmortem had revealed the dead man had suffered “multi-force trauma to the head”.

Mr Robu’s body was discovered in a laneway off Madison Road near the South Circular Road in Kilmainham in the early hours of September 14th.

The inquest heard Mr Robu was formally identified as a result of matching a DNA sample from his brother, Emmanuel.

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The deceased man had been living in Ireland for several years and was known to the homeless services in Dublin but had been sleeping rough in the months before his death.

Det Insp Joseph McLoughlin applied for and was granted an adjournment of the inquest on the basis there are ongoing criminal proceedings in relation to Mr Robu’s death.

A then 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reason, was charged with Mr Robu’s murder shortly after his death in September and remains in custody.

The now 17-year-old is due to appear before a hearing of Dublin Children’s Court next Tuesday.

The DPP has directed that the teenager will face trial on indictment before the Central Criminal Court.

Coroner, Dr Cróna Gallagher, expressed her sympathy to Mr Robu’s family on what she described as “the very tragic death of a young man.”