Gardaí prepare DPP file after death of Lithuanian
The victim Roburtas Kontautas, from Lithuania, died after being assaulted at a house in Ashbourne.
Mr Kontautas, aged 41, is thought to have been struck over the head during a row among fellow nationals at a house in St Johnswood Drive.
Gardaí said there was a party in the house at the time and that an argument developed, which appeared to have led to the fatality.
Emergency services were alerted to the house.
Gardaí said the body of the deceased was found in a downstairs living room of the house at around 6.30am on Saturday. The scene was preserved by gardaí for forensic and technical examination. A post mortem subsequently determined that the man died from a head injury.
Gardaí arrested a 23-year-old man at around lunchtime on Sunday and he was questioned in relation to the death.
The man was released without charge from Trim Garda Station yesterday following consultations with the DPP.
A Garda spokesman said a file was being prepared for the DPP. He confirmed that the case was being treated as a murder and that a full investigation was underway.
“Gardaí in Ashbourne, Meath have commenced a murder investigation following the death of a man in a house at St Johnswood Drive, Ashbourne on Saturday, January 7 last.”
The Garda Press Office only issued a statement about the fatality yesterday afternoon, more than two days after the incident.
A spokesman said the information was released as soon as the office was told a murder had taken place.
Mr Kontautas’s killing is the third violent death to have occurred so far this year, following deaths in Co Cavan and Dublin.
His is the latest violent death to hit the burgeoning Lithuanian community in Ireland.
At least 12 Lithuanian nationals have been killed in Ireland in the last three years.
A number of the deaths have occurred at house parties held by Lithuanian nationals.
Last October, a 38-year-old father-of-one Gintaras Balcionas, died after suffering serious head and upper body injuries.
He was found in the garden of his flat at Rockgrove Terrace on the Lower Glanmire Road in Cork City.
The previous May a 21-year-old Lithuanian man was fatally stabbed following a house party near Clones, Co Monaghan.
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