There has been a day of legal argument in the absence of the jury at the trial of a man accused of murdering an 83-year old pensioner in Westmeath last year.

There has been a day of legal argument in the absence of the jury at the trial of a man accused of murdering an 83-year old pensioner in Westmeath last year.

A pensioner was found dead in his home in Kilbeggan last year after he was tied up and beaten, having received “blows, punches and kicks” to the face and head, the Central Criminal Court heard today.

A pensioner who was found dead in his home in Co Westmeath last year exchanged €400 worth of coins for notes in a pub on the day he was allegedly robbed and murdered, the Central Criminal Court heard today.

An 83-year old pensioner, who was found dead and tied up at his home in Co Westmeath, was beaten to death and robbed of cash, the prosecution claimed today at the trial of the man accused of the pensioner's murder.

The trial of the man accused of murdering 83-year old Christy Hanley in Co Westmeath last year will begin on Thursday at the Central Criminal Court.

Gardaí are continuing to question a 46-year-old man in connection with the murder of pensioner Christy Hanley in Co Westmeath last month.

A 46-year-old man was tonight being questioned over the murder of well-known horse dealer Christy Hanley last month.

THE priest officiating at the funeral mass yesterday of elderly horse trader Christy Hanley, who was tied up and beaten to death in his Co Westmeath home, appealed to the public to aid the murder investigation.

Gardaí in Co Westmeath say they want to speak to an unidentified man who was seen with pensioner Christy Hanley in the hours before his violent death last week.

Gardaí are continuing to seek help from the public in piecing together the circumstances leading to the death of an 83-year-old man at his house in Co Westmeath yesterday.

THANKFULLY attacks on elderly people in isolated communities are not as common as they were a decade ago.

“DON’T spare them now!” a man said to me on Saturday referring to the Munster team that had lost the Heineken Cup quarter-final the previous evening, “don’t spare them!” he repeated.