Gardai say killing of canal victim occurred elsewhere

Gardaí have said the man whose dismembered and headless remains were found in a Dublin canal on Wednesday evening died a "brutal" death. They have appealed to members of the public to assist them in establishing his identity and catching his killers.

Gardaí believe the man was killed elsewhere before being dumped in the Royal Canal near Croke Park and they are anxious to identify the original murder scene as quickly as possible. The remains were badly discoloured but detectives believe they may be those of a non-caucasian non-national.

They believe the body parts may have been in the canal for up to a week and were found in several places about 100m apart. All limbs were detached from the body.

The man's head had also been cut off and has not yet been found.

The remains were discovered at the same stretch of the canal, near Ballybough Bridge in the north inner city, where the badly beaten body of a Romanian man, Adrian Bestea, was found stuffed into a suitcase in 2001.

Detectives working on the latest case believe the man had been dead for more than a week before his body was discovered partially wrapped in black plastic in the canal at around 7.30pm on Wednesday.

Members of the Garda Water Unit and several units from Dublin Fire Brigade attended the scene on Wednesday night shortly after the remains were spotted by a passerby.

They carried out a preliminary floodlit search of the area around the bridge until about 10pm.

The area of the canal around the bridge was sealed off on Wednesday night and remained closed throughout yesterday. Ballybough Road from the Summerhill junction to Clonliffe Road was also closed.

Divers from the Garda Water Unit along with the fire brigade returned to the scene yesterday morning and began the search proper. The diving team scoured the canal for much of yesterday and took remains from the water. Because some of the body parts are still missing, the search had not officially ended last night.

The recovered remains were kept at the scene until Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis had conducted a preliminary examination before lunchtime. The remains were then removed to Beaumont Hospital where a full post mortem was begun just after 2pm. Gardaí said the results of this would not be released for some time.

Chief Supt Michael Feehan, who is leading the investigation, said gardaí were anxious to hear from anybody with information on the murder and any members of the public who had concerns about a missing male friend or loved one.

The public should be aware that a second crime scene existed. Anybody who had seen anything suspicious in recent days "or more than a week" either where the remains were found or at any other location was asked to contact gardaí.

"From initial investigation this looks like quite a brutal incident," said Chief Supt Feehan.

"It is a murder investigation at this point. We are making house-to-house inquiries. It is early stages in the investigation at this point."

Local people who had gathered at the scene in Ballybough yesterday said the discovery had shocked the community. One woman said dead bodies, most resulting from suicide cases, had been regularly taken from the canal in recent years.

The investigation is based at Fitzgibbon Street Garda station, 01-6668400, or freephone 1800 218219.