Botched burglary theory in death of horse breeder

A MAN in his early 20s has been arrested and is helping gardaí with their investigation into the death of Co Waterford horse breeder Dick Forristal.

The man was arrested in the Tramore area at 3pm yesterday. His period of detention was due to be extended at 9pm last night.

Sixty-two-year-old Mr Forristal was found by a friend in a pool of blood in the kitchen-cum-living room of his home on a 100-acre farm a mile outside the seaside town of Tramore shortly after 2.20pm on Thursday.

The well-known horse breeder had been stabbed several times in the chest and may have been left to die. Garda have not yet recovered the weapon used in the attack.

A friend of Mr Forristal had dropped the hard-working and much-liked bachelor home at Carrigavantry Stud after the funeral of bomb blast victim Tara Whelan and had arranged to return with some fresh mackerel they were going to cook for lunch.

Supt Gerry Lynch, who is leading the investigation, said it appeared Mr Forristal may have been stabbed in a burglary that went wrong.

“He could have walked in on someone. It’s certainly a theory. We are still looking for a weapon. We are early into this arrest. We will have to progress this investigation stage by stage, step by step.

“Just because someone is in custody means nothing. It’s at its very early stages,” he said.

“A friend found Mr Forristal in the living room-cum-kitchen of his home. I went to the scene and we closed off the scene and called in the state pathologist and forensic people,” Supt Lynch said.

“Mr Forristal died from stab wounds, the extent of which I can’t go into. I would appeal to anyone who saw anything suspicious, even a car speeding or a car parked suspiciously or anything, to contact us.

“This was a particularly brutal attack on a man who was a very quiet individual, very inoffensive and went about his business.

“I would like to appeal to people to give us whatever help they can to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice,” he added.

The death has stunned and angered the people of Tramore.

Local councillor Dan Cowman said he was reared with Mr Forristal and they would go hunting and fishing together.

“He was a lovely man. You’d tell him a joke and the tears would be rolling down his face, he’d be laughing so much. He was a great character. The whole place is in shock,” he said.

Gardaí in Tramore can be contacted at [phone].