‘Vicious’ murderer dies suddenly in jail

A MAN described as one of Limerick’s most vicious criminals has died suddenly in jail while serving life for the brutal murder of a barman in the city.

Raymond Casey, aged 45, of Ashe Avenue, Carew Park, Southill, suffered a heart attack in Portlaoise jail.

He was jailed for life at the Central Criminal Court on January 8, 2002, for the murder of Noel Piper on August 12, 1997.

Mr Piper, who was 48 at the time and suffering from terminal throat cancer, was attacked as he returned to his flat after a night’s work at a city centre pub.

A second man, Anthony Casey, now aged 29, of Wolfe Tone Street was also sentenced to life for his part in the murder.

The detective in charge of the murder hunt, Det Insp Gerry Mahon, who is now chief superintendent of the Limerick Garda Division told the trial that Raymond Casey was one of the most violent criminals Limerick had ever seen.

Mr Piper’s body was found behind a skip in Lonergan’s Lane off Newenham Street on the morning of August 12, 1997.

On tracing his movements, gardaí found that Mr Piper, on finishing work as a barman in a Catherine Street pub, went to a nearby takeaway.

CCTV showed Raymond Casey was in the takeaway at the same time and in the queue behind Noel Piper.

After following Mr Piper, his two assailants attacked him and dragged him into Lonergan’s Lane where he was savagely kicked.

He was suffering from terminal cancer at the time and the Caseys thought he was carrying the bar’s night takings.

While Raymond Casey was the main suspect from the outset of the investigation he vehemently denied being anywhere near the scene of the murder.

Detectives from the Garda Technical Bureau got a major breakthrough when examining the blood-spattered wall near where Mr Piper’s body was found.

While they could not recover any finger or hand prints from the wall surface, after painstaking forensic work they managed to get prints from a patch of Mr Piper’s blood spattered on the wall.

One investigator said: “Such was the ferocity of the beating they gave Mr Piper, that large amounts of his blood spattered the wall. As Raymond Casey continued to kick him on the ground, he placed his hands on the wall and on patches of Mr Piper’s blood.”

Raymond Casey took ill with chest pains at Portlaoise prison yesterday and died shortly after.

An inquest into his death will be held at a later.