GARDAÍ IN Limerick were last night trying to establish a motive for the violent killing of a 54-year-old Limerick man found stabbed to death at a flat in the city.
Martin Purcell (54), originally from The Fairgreen, Limerick, lived alone in a rented flat on Wickham Street, where his body was found at about 11am yesterday.
The separated father of two suffered a number of knife wounds, including a stab wound to his neck.
Assistant State Pathologist Dr Khalid Jabbar arrived at the scene yesterday afternoon and a postmortem was carried out at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick last night.
Detectives are still working to identify a motive for the killing of Mr Purcell, who had never come to the attention of gardaí.
Friends described the former Eircom employee as a “quiet, reserved individual” who enjoyed a few pints and was a regular in Flannery’s pub on Wickham Street.
Gardaí would not confirm whether any murder weapon was found at the scene and would not say how long the body had been there before it was found.
Mr Purcell was seen in the area on Wednesday, but had not been seen since until his body was discovered yesterday morning.
The location of the discovery of the body, one of three flats above JJ Keneally jewellers, was sealed off yesterday and a technical team was called in to examine the scene.
Shocked friends of the 54-year-old gathered at the scene and were struggling to come to terms with his death.
“I just can’t believe it. He was one of the nicest people you could meet and he wouldn’t hurt a fly. If he only had €10 in his pocket he would give you a fiver, that was the type of person he was,” a friend, Derek Wallace, said.
“He lived alone in the bedsit and was just such a nice, quiet kind of person.
“He didn’t have any enemies – it just doesn’t make any sense.”
Another friend, Stephanie Naughton, was also visibly upset at Mr Purcell’s violent death.
“I don’t think there is anyone who would say a bad word about Martin, and I couldn’t think of anyone who would want to hurt him,” Ms Naughton said.
“He loved his music, and we used to enjoy listening to each other’s favourite tunes on the jukebox in the pub.
“He was just such a lovely character, and how he could die in such circumstances is just so hard to believe,” she added.
Supt Frank O’Brien, who is leading the murder inquiry, last night appealed for witnesses to come forward.
“This is a very busy thoroughfare and a lot of people have been coming up to gardaí at the scene offering their assistance, and a lot of people may be in a position to help us with our inquiries, so we would appeal for anyone with information – especially to anybody who knew the victim – to contact the gardaí,” he said.
Mr Purcell is survived by his separated wife, son and daughter, who live in England.
The couple were married when Mr Purcell was 19, and they lived at Norwood Park in Limerick before separating a number of years ago.
His death is the second tragedy for the Purcell family in recent months.
A brother, Leonard Purcell, died suddenly in May. The brothers are survived by their sisters, Angela and Susan, and other brother Barry.