Man killed a week before body found in marsh, say gardaí

GARDAÍ believe a man whose body was found dumped in a remote marsh in Co Kerry last Thursday was killed in his Cork city flat up to a week beforehand.

They also believe John McManus’s body may have been in the flat for several days after his death and that his killer or killers returned to collect it for disposal.

They are following a definite line of inquiry but said the investigation will take some time.

Officers investigating the murder believe Mr McManus, 25, a native of Fermoy in north Cork, was most likely killed some time late on October 30 in his flat at Verdon Place on Wellington Road on Cork’s northside.

It has been established that a number of people were in the flat that night and a neighbour had called round to ask them to keep the noise down.

Mr McManus’s body was found with severe head and upper body injuries in a marshy field near Ballyduff in north Kerry.

Gardaí believe Mr McManus was killed in the flat after being struck repeatedly because of the large quantity of blood found.

There was also evidence that an attempt was made to clean up the flat.

Gardaí foiled the plan to bury Mr McManus’s body when Garda Dan O’Connor from Ballybunion spotted a man acting suspiciously in the area and stopped and impounded a car. Traces of blood and a shovel were found in the boot. Gardaí are awaiting the results of forensic tests.

Mr McManus’s mobile phone has not been recovered but gardaí have contacted a mobile phone company in an effort to establish who contacted him in the days before he was reported missing.

Mr McManus was last seen in the Mayfield area of Cork city on October 30.

His family reported him missing after they became concerned when he failed to contact them.