Lithuanian man died from head wound

A MURDER hunt has been launched in Cork city after yesterday’s post- mortem examination showed that the Lithuanian man whose body was found near his rented accommodation on Sunday died from a serious head wound.

The body of 38-year-old Gintaras Balcionas was found on the pathway of the house at Rockmount Terrace on the Lower Glanmire Road shortly after 4pm on Sunday.

The body had head and upper body injuries and was discovered outside the doorway of the house in which he rented a flat.

The murdered man, a father of one child, had been living in the house at Rockgrove, Lower Glanmire Road, with his wife for the past year.

Yesterday, his wife and two other men, who also live in the house, were helping gardaí in their investigation. Supt Martin Shanahan, heading the murder hunt, said the three people assisting gardaí with their inquiries were not suspects and no arrests had yet been made.

“There are reports that a man was seen flagging down traffic on the Lower Glanmire Road around 4pm on Sunday evening. We would like to speak to any members of the public who might have seen this man,” Supt Shanahan said.

Deputy State pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster carried out the post-mortem examination on the body yesterday morning at Cork University Hospital.

Meanwhile, gardaí have confirmed that a second body of a man which was discovered also on Sunday at the North Mall is not being treated as a suspicious death.

The body of the young man in his 20s was found in a car park at the distillery building on the north eastern side of the city.

Gardaí have not yet released the name of the dead man.