A MURDER investigation was launched in Limerick yesterday following the death of an 18-year-old youth in the Moyross housing estate.
Darren Bennett from Delmege Park in the northside estate died after suffering a stab wound to his stomach early yesterday morning. The teenager, who turned 18 last month, suffered the injury when trouble started outside a house in Craevel Park in Moyross at 2am.
He had been at a party in the house following St Patrick’s Day festivities when he was stabbed in an altercation on the front doorstep of the house.
Gardaí say the murder is not connected to the wider Limerick gangland feud.
However, it may be linked to a localised dispute in the Moyross area. The victim, who was known to gardaí, had a “significant” number of previous convictions despite his young age, according to sources.
He was due to appear before Limerick District Court yesterday in connection with a car-jacking incident. Many of his previous convictions related to public order matters and he once served nine months detention at St Patrick’s Institution. He was also given three months detention at Newcastle West court in Co Limerick in recent years in relation to a burglary charge.
When his case was called before Limerick District Court yesterday morning, his solicitor Sarah Ryan said her client was “deceased as and from the early hours of this morning”.
Judge Aeneas McCarthy agreed to an application by the State for the case to be struck out.
State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy travelled to Limerick yesterday to carry out a postmortem on the deceased at the Mid Western Regional Hospital. The results of the postmortem have not been released but it is believed the 18-year-old died as a result of the stab wound to his stomach.
A number of locations where the stabbing took place were sealed off yesterday and members of the Garda Regional Response Unit remained on duty at the crime scene last night.
The armed unit was present yesterday morning when tensions flared and a stand-off took place between gardaí and a group of people who attempted to gain access to the crime scene.
Gardaí had to restrain a group of up to 15 people who tried to force their way into a cordoned-off area.
Supt Frank O’Brien, who is leading the investigation, last night appealed for calm and for the public’s assistance with the murder inquiry. “We would appeal to people to remain calm and to come forward and assist us with our investigation, which is the best possible support they can give to the family at this time,” he said.
The search for the murder weapon was ongoing last night and no arrests had been made in connection with the killing. Flowers were laid at the crime scene with messages of support from the victim’s family and friends.
Local parish priest Fr Frank O’Dea said the entire community of Moyross was in shock following the murder. “It’s a stark reminder to us of the need for all of us to redouble our efforts to try as best we can to build a safer community for all of the people here in our parish and again to extend sympathy to his family,” said Fr O’Dea.
Yesterday’s murder was the first killing in the Moyross area since the process of regeneration began. The northside estate is one of three troubled areas in Limerick due to be transformed as part of a €3 billion redevelopment project.