Open verdict returned in mummified body inquest

The mummified body of a man who had been missing for more than four years was found in a derelict house by a scrap metal hunter, an inquest heard.

The body of John Byrne, 42, a father of one from Ballygall Rd West in Finglas, Dublin, was found crouched behind a chest of drawers at the house on the Royal Canal Bank in Phibsboro on July 23 last year.

He was reported missing in February 2009 after family members were unable to contact him. A lottery ticket found in his pocket indicated Mr Byrne died on or around Valentine’s Day that year.