GARDAI are investigating the murder of a homeless man whose body was found decapitated on the grounds of a derelict house in Cork city last week.
Forensic teams are reportedly still searching the property for more evidence.
The body of Francis (Frankie) Dunne, 64, was discovered last Saturday around 4pm at the back of Castlegreina House on Boreenmanna Road by a neighbour - who was looking for their cat.
His family are said to be "numb and in shock" at the news of his brutal murder.
Gardai secured a 48-hour extension on New Year’s Eve of the designation of the property as a crime scene.
There are reportedly up to 40 gardai and detectives currently investigating the crime scene.
It's also been reported that the victim's arms, as well as his head, were removed after death.
They were found a short distance away from his body.
A post mortem of Mr Dunne's body confirmed that he was killed in violent circumstances.
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, according to the Irish Examiner.
Mr Dunne's family have appealed for privacy during the investigation, while insisting that he was not homeless, but living in a shelter for the homeless instead.
They described him as "one of a kind, a character, one of the funniest people to know."
Superintendent Michael Comyns said: "We have a full investigation up and running. We have local patrols out in the area. We have a lot of uniformed gardaí carrying out house to house enquiries and looking at the CCTV.
"This is normally a very quiet area. There is a lot of traffic, a lot of pedestrian traffic but it is a quiet area which doesn't get a huge amount of garda activity. A lot of people in this area do walk in to the city centre. It is a derelict house. There shouldn’t be any activity in and around the house," he added.
"We are appealing for any persons who may have passed on Boreenmanna Road over the last number of days, going back to Christmas Day, if they had seen any activity around this derelict house, to please contact us," said Comyns.
The property, which is believed to have been derelict for a number of years, has become something of a hotspot for anti-social behaviour and drinking parties recently.
