Gardaí continue to search murder scene four days after Cork man's decapitated body found

Gardaí investigating the brutal murder of a man whose decapitated body was found on the grounds of a vacant house in Cork city last weekend are still combing the property for forensic evidence.

The team probing the brutal killing of Francis (Frankie) Dunne, 64, whose dismembered body was found to the rear of Castlegreina House on Boreenmanna Road last Saturday, secured a 48-hour extension on New Year’s Eve of the designation of the property as a crime scene.

Garda technical experts are still conducting detailed forensic examinations both of the grounds and of the buildings, located close to the city’s South Link Road. A weapon has yet to be recovered.

They have the option tomorrow of seeking a further 48-hour extension to its designation as a crime scene to continue their examination.

The fact that the property is still a designated crime scene four days on from the discovery of the body is an indication of the extensive and detailed nature of the massive garda probe.

A team of up to 40 gardaí and detectives working on the brutal murder held a conference this evening to assess progress.

They are satisfied that Mr Dunne, who was originally from Churchfield on the city’s northside, but who had been engaging with various homeless agencies for some time, was alive last Friday afternoon.

He was last seen at the nearby Clanmornin House - a high-support housing unit run by Cork Simon, where he had been living on and off since July.

Gardaí are now trawling through hours of CCTV footage, harvested from several sources, including buildings, petrol stations and offices, as well as using dashcam footage from private cars, taxis, and buses which travelled through the area between Christmas Day and last Saturday, to build a picture of Mr Dunne’s final hours.

They hope to trace his last-known movements and have spoken to members of Cork’s homeless community, and to those who work with the homeless, in the hope of identifying those he was with.

Mr Dunne’s naked body was found by a man searching for his missing cat in undergrowth on the grounds of Castlegreina House at around 4pm on Saturday.

The alarm was raised and gardaí sealed off the scene. His head and arms were found nearby following a search.

A post mortem the following day confirmed that Mr Dunne died in violent circumstances and a murder probe was launched.

Gardaí have declined to discuss the nature of Mr Dunne’s injuries or the results of the post mortem for operational reasons.

But it has been reported that he died from severe head injuries following a suspected beating, and that his head and arms were removed after death.

Gardaí are understood to be following several lines of inquiry in relation to the identity of the killer or killers, on the motive for the killing, and on why he suffered such severe injuries afterwards.

They are also trying to establish whether the person or people involved in the killing or dismemberment intended to dump the limbs elsewhere but were disturbed before they could.

It is expected that Mr Dunne’s remains will be released to his family tomorrow at which point funeral arrangements will be finalised.

Mr Dunne's family, who have appealed for privacy, described him as "one of a kind, a character, one of the funniest people to know" and said he was not homeless, but living in a shelter for the homeless.

They said they tried to help him as recently as last week but that sadly he "preferred the streets".