Limerick murderer dies in prison

A Limerick criminal serving a life sentence for a violent murder 12 years ago has died in jail.

Forty-six-year-old Raymond Casey, of Ashe Avenue, John Carew Park, became ill while exercising in Portlaoise Prison yesterday.

He was rushed to Portlaoise Hospital, but was pronounced dead a short time later.

Casey and another man were convicted of murdering barman Noel Pyper, who was beaten to death in a laneway in Limerick city in August 1997.

The Irish Prison Service is to investigate his death and is awaiting the results of a post mortem on his body.