Man tells how he found body in canal

THE man who discovered dismembered human remains in a Dublin canal has described how he was alerted by a group of youngsters who thought there was a dummy in the water.

The 23-year-old revealed how he first saw a leg, then the torso of the headless young man.

Gardaí investigating the murder were last night still trying to identify the dead man, who was black, aged between 20 and 30, well built and over 6ft tall.

Detectives are attempting to match fingerprints taken from the body to a national immigrant database. Searches of the canal continued over the weekend but the man’s head had still not been found by last night.

There were reports yesterday linking the murder to that of Paiche Onyemachi, a young mother originally from Malawi who was murdered last summer. Her headless body was discovered under a bridge beside a river in Kilkenny.

Her husband Chika disappeared before Ms Onyemachi’s funeral.

The man who discovered the remains, in an interview with a Sunday newspaper, said he was walking along the Royal Canal near Croke Park on Wednesday evening when he spotted three youngsters pointing at something in the water.

“I heard them saying it was a dummy. I went down for a closer look,” the man, who would not reveal his name.

“I saw the calf of a leg and a foot first. It had a stocking on, there was no shoe. I couldn’t believe but I could see something else further up so I walked on a few steps and could see the top half of a leg.

“Further on again there was a stomach, a torso. It wasn’t dressed, it was sort of wrapped in an Ireland jersey. It was a long-sleeved, white and green top, like an Ireland jersey.”

Gardaí at Fitzgibbon Street issued a fresh appeal for help in identifying the dead man.

They displayed a number of items found with the body: a pair of Primark underpants; an Irish soccer jersey; and a pair of socks.

A garda spokesman said: “The investigation team wish to appeal to all landlords to check their rented accommodation for any tenants who may be unaccounted for and to contact the incident room at Fitzgibbon Street Garda Station.

“Gardaí also wish to appeal to members of ethnic communities who may have any information in relation to persons missing from their community or any other information however insignificant to contact them.”

Anyone with information should contact the incident room on 1800 218 219.