Limerick man, 56, was dead at home for weeks, inquest told

A MAN whose badly decomposed body was found at his home shortly before last Christmas had been dead for several weeks, the coroner’s court has heard.

Gardai made the grim discovery after they called to the home of the 56-year-old last December after he was reported missing.

Coroner John McNamara was told the man’s former partner, who lives outside of Limerick, contacted her local garda station to express concerns for his safety.

She said she had spoken to him by phone in mid-November 2018 and that she reported him missing after failing to make contact with him over a number of days.

Garda Gillian McNulty who was dispatched to the man’s house to check on him, said she got a smell of decomposition as she approached the property which was locked and secure.

Members of the Regional Support Unit performed a forced entry and the house was then searched.

Garda McNulty said the heating was turned on and that there was “immense heat” when she entered the property.

She said blood was dripping through the ceiling and that a man’s body was located in a small upstairs room.

The body was removed to University Hospital Limerick and using DNA samples it was later confirmed to be that of the missing man.

While the house was initially declared a crime scene, gardai subsequently ruled out foul play and determined the man’s death was not suspicious.

Coroner John McNamara was told a postmortem examination showed the man had died as a result of self-inflicted wounds.

Pathologist, Dr Gabor Laskai, said it was not possible to carry out toxicology tests given the advanced decomposition of the body.

A number of notes found in the house were dated several weeks before the man's body was found.

Delivering his verdict, Mr McNamara said the notes were evidence of the man’s intention and, given the manner of death, he said he was satisfied a verdict of suicide was appropriate.