Family appeals for help tracing pensioner’s killers

The family of a pensioner whose beaten body was found bound and dumped on the floor of his home almost seven years ago has made an emotional appeal for help tracing his killers.

Christopher ‘Gussie’ Hornibrook’s nieces, Sheila, Marie and Sarah, spoke out yesterday after a inquest returned a verdict of unlawful killing in relation to his death in Cork in 2007.

“We just want justice for Gussie,” Sheila said. “We would just like to appeal for anyone who has information about what happened to Gussie that night to talk to the gardaí.”

Reclusive Mr Hornibrook, 73, who lived alone on Templeacre Avenue, Gurranabraher, was found dead by his brother, Robert, in a downstairs room of the house at around 12.20pm on November 6, 2007.

There were no locks on the doors of the house, and there was no sign of forced entry.

He had been beaten and tied up by his attackers some time after 9.30pm the previous night.

Cork City Coroner’s Court was told yesterday that Robert died seven months ago — his deposition was read into the record. Robert said he arrived at Gussie’s house around 12.20pm and noticed the front door was shut, and the lights inside were off, which was unusual. He stepped inside and found Gussie lying on the ground in a back room.

“I said ‘get up’ but he didn’t move,” Robert said.

He ran to his daughter, Sheila’s house nearby, and the alarm was raised.

Gardaí arrived and found that Gussie’s hands had been bound by his sides by two neck-ties, which were then wrapped around his flexed knees. He had cuts to both sides of his face, blood on his hands, several rib fractures and fractures to the bones in his neck. Pillow material was found in his mouth, indicating a pillow had been held over his face.

A postmortem found he died from a combination of trauma to the chest and neck, with restraint asphyxia, in association with severe heart disease.

A Garda investigation was launched and in the months that followed, a dedicated garda team sifted through almost 1,600 questionnaires, took close to 420 statements, interviewed more than 140 taxi drivers who were working in the area that night, and trawled through 600 hours of CCTV footage. They traced Gussie’s last known movements, andthey established that he visited a local chipper between 6pm-7pm on November 5, and a local Centra shop around 600 yards away between 8.30pm-9pm.

In his deposition, neighbour, Tony O’Sullivan, said he saw Gussie return home at around 9.30pm, but that he heard nothing from the house overnight.

Gardaí staged a reconstruction of Gussie’s last known movements on the Crimecall television show, and in November 2012, his nephew, John, made a renewed appeal on Crimecall for information.

No one has ebeen arrested in connection with the killing. One of the lead investigators, Detective Sergeant Denis Lynch, renewed the appeal for information yesterday.

“People might not have been in a position to give us information at the time. Their circumstances may have changed since then and we would appeal to them to come forward,” he said.

Supt Con Cadogan, who is leading the investigation, said ‘people of interest’ with the vital information could help gardaí crack the case. “An attack on an elderly vulnerable member of the community is a despicable crime — the lowest of the low,” he said. “We mounted an extensive investigation which had several strands. We just need these people to come forward with the vital information — the missing piece of the jigsaw. “I am prepared to meet them, in confidence, at any time, in any place, if it means this case can be solved.”

Gardaí are anxious to trace one man who used a mobile phone to call Gurranabraher Garda Station at 9.55am on November 7, 2007, the day after Mr Hornibrook was found dead.

The caller spoke to Det Garda Derek Mulcahy for five-and-a-half minutes.

He ended the call promising to make contact again, but to date, and despite numerous appeals from gardaí and Mr Hornibrook’s family, he has not come forward.

Gardaí are also anxious to trace anyone with information about an unusual two-colour silk tie which was found at the scene. The expensive tie, made by Italian firm Profuomo, was one of just 20 which had been sold in Cork at the time.

lAnyone with information can contact gardaí at Gurranabraher on 021 4946200 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666111.