Murder inquiry after body found

Gardaí last night launched a murder inquiry into the death of a man whose decomposed body was found at the bottom of a pit on Tuesday afternoon.

The body, found near a house between Tipperary town and Bansha, is not likely to be positively identified until this evening at the earliest but is believed to be that of 52-year-old Bobby Ryan, who has been missing for almost two years.

The remains were found lying in water at the bottom of a disused storage pit in the townland of Fawnagown, close to Tipperary, leading gardaí to believe they may have been the remains Mr Ryan as he was last seen in the area on the morning of Jun 3, 2011.

For operational reasons, detectives did not reveal the results of an autopsy carried out on the body at Waterford Regional Hospital throughout most of yesterday, but confirmed the death was now the subject of a murder investigation.

DNA samples are likely to be needed to verify the identity of the dead man although possessions found on the decomposed remains, understood to include a wallet, are also being used.