Man killed and couple injured in knife attacks

A YOUNG man has been killed and a couple viciously attacked in separate knife attacks just days into the new year.

A 25-year-old Polish man was stabbed in the chest during a row at a rural house in Co Meath in the early hours of yesterday.

Six Polish people are being quizzed about the stabbing, two of them under arrest and four voluntarily.

In a separate incident, a Pakistani couple were knifed by a man known to them in a frenzied attack in Drogheda, Co Louth.

The couple suffered serious injuries. The man, 39, was yesterday reported to have died, but was resuscitated by an ambulance paramedic. His condition remains critical. His partner, 31, is said to be in a stable condition.

Gardaí are satisfied they know the identity of the attacker and are tracking him down.

In the first stabbing, Polish national David Maurz died after being stabbed during a row at a house on the outskirts of Rathmolyon village, near Enfield.

The mechanic, who was only in the country for a short time, was socialising with six other Polish people at the time.

Gardaí discovered Mr Maurz’s body with a stab wound to his chest after being alerted to the detached bungalow at around 1am.

He was brought by ambulance to James Connolly Memorial Hospital in Blanchardstown, west Dublin, where he underwent emergency surgery. He was pronounced dead at 4.30am.

Assistant state pathologist Dr Khalid Jabbar conducted a postmortem examination yesterday afternoon.

The house was preserved, pending the arrival of the Garda Technical Bureau who carried out a detailed examination. The knife was taken away for fingerprint and forensic examination.

As Mr Maurz was being taken to hospital, detectives from Trim Garda Station interviewed the six other occupants at the house in a bid to determine what had happened.

As a result, two males, aged 29 and 59, were arrested by gardaí on suspicion of assault causing serious harm. They are being detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.

Later in the day, four other people in the house presented themselves to gardaí and volunteered to be interviewed. Gardaí are hopeful of making progress.

It is understood all six Polish nationals lived and worked in the area.

Four Polish men were killed last year, two of them as a result of fatal stabbings.

Meanwhile, at 2pm in Drogheda, a Pakistani couple were attacked at their fifth-floor apartment in the Fitzwilliam Court Complex on Dyer Street.

Their attacker, reportedly known to the injured pair, stabbed both of them with a knife before making his escape. It is understood the main suspect was seen leaving the building.

Gardaí said the couple sustained serious injuries and were taken to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital.

Gardaí said the man was in a critical condition and the woman was in a stable condition. Their apartment was sealed off for technical examination.