Two Scots charged in New Age death case

TWO Scottish men were last night charged in connection with the killing of a 45 -year-old Portuguese man, Sergio Abreu, at a special sitting of Youghal District Court.

Thirty-year-old Steven Job and 35-year-old Graeme Turnbull, both of Whiting Bay, Ardmore, were charged with assault causing harm to New Age Traveller Sergio Abreu under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.

On the basis of the seriousness of the charges and the provisions of the Bail Act, Judge David Riordan remanded both men in custody to appear again before the district court at Tallow in Co Waterford on Friday.

Addressing the court, Superintendent Liam Hayes of Midleton Garda Station said that the charges were serious and there may be more charges to follow.

Both men, who are unemployed, were granted legal aid.

The two men were among four people held for questioning by gardai. The two others, a man and a woman, were yesterday released without charge.

The badly beaten body of Mr Abreu was discovered by a passer-by shortly after 10am on Saturday. He is believed to have died on Saturday night or early Sunday morning.

Mr Abreu, who had been living in Ardmore village, is believed to have been drinking with a number of people in Youghal on Friday. He is known to have returned with them to a make-shift camp at Clashanahy, near Ardmore later that night.

On Friday night or early Saturday morning, a row broke out and Mr Abreu was attacked, beaten and dumped in a ditch just yards from the popular beach at Whiting Bay. The area was cordoned off and a full-scale investigation launched.

Members of the Garda technical forensic unit visited the scene while the deputy state pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy carried out a post mortem.

The post mortem revealed that Mr Abreu suffered multiple wounds to his head and body.

Mr Abreu had been recently released from prison where he served time for assaulting a female but, despite his conviction, Mr Abreu, a single man but the father of a child by a local woman, was said to be well liked in the area.

Mr Abreu had been living in Ireland for a number of years, first in Youghal and then in Ardmore.

The dead man’s family was yesterday informed of the killing via the Portuguese Embassy and are expected to arrive in Ireland to claim the body within the next couple of days.