Gardaí today confirmed they received a phone call about a man being tied up in a house as the investigation into the murder of Sligo man Eugene Gillespie continues.
Mr Gillespie (67) was found on Friday evening, unconscious and lying in the hallway of his home at Old Market Street with his hands tied behind his back.
Mr Gillespie, who was known for his love of the Irish language and his interest in vintage cars, history and current affairs, suffered appalling injuries as his attacker apparently demanded that he hand over money. His hands were so tightly bound with cable wire that circulation was blocked. He also suffered severe head injuries.
Gardaí today said a call was received last Thursday, September 20th, via the emergency services number relating to a male being tied up in a house with a brown gate.
A Garda went to the house as described and "satisfied themselves that there was nothing untoward", a statement said, adding gardaí are liaising with phone companies in a bid to identify the caller.
While gardaí would not confirm the postmortem results “for operational reasons”, the savage nature of the attack and the fact that Mr Gillespie may have been there for up to two days has shocked local people.
Garda Supt Mary Murray, who is heading the investigation, confirmed that “quite an amount” of CCTV footage from the area was being analysed with 30 gardaí involved in the investigation.
While it is widely believed that more than one person was involved in the attack, no specific line of inquiry is being pursued.
A popular resident of Sligo, Mr Gillespie’s killing has prompted calls for a clampdown on violence, with one Sligo man offering to organise a reward for information leading to the conviction of his killers.
Declan Foley, an Australia-based friend of Mr Gillespie, said it was “inhuman” to leave anyone in that situation without summoning help. He said the response to his idea of a reward had been “astounding”. Mr Gillespie had no interest in money as long as he had a warm bed, “a bit of bread” and his cars, he added.
His cousin Eddie Gillespie said the family was still in shock. He said Eugene had been found by family members who could not make contact.
Garda Supt Murray appealed to pedestrians, taxi drivers, business people and anyone who was in the vicinity of Old Market Street from 9pm on Wednesday to 9.20pm last Friday to contact Sligo gardaí if they had information on 071-9157000, or the Garda confidential telephone line on 1800-666 111.