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Gardaí, in north Co Cork, hopes that medical records will reveal whether a man who murdered his two brothers before committing suicide had suffered from any recent mental health problems.
Paddy (60) and Willie Hennessy (66) were found dead at the family home in Curraghgorm, 5 km northwest of Mitchelstown, apparently attacked by their younger brother Johnny (59), whose body was later recovered from the nearby Funcheon River. .
The alarm went off around midnight Thursday after Paddy Hennessy’s ex-wife Stephanie and daughter Elaine became concerned when he failed to return from a visit to Curraghgorm.
They went from his home on Linden Hill in Mitchelstown to Curraghgorm, where they found Mr. Hennessy with serious head injuries in a wooden patio 200 meters from the one-story farmhouse where he and his brothers grew up.
Gardaí from Mitchelstown and Fermoy arrived at the scene and, initially believing that Mr. Hennessy may have been shot in the head, requested the support of armed support units from Cork and Limerick.
Armed officers established a cordon around the farm and yard in the belief that they were potentially dealing with a hostage situation, as there was no sign of Mr. Hennessy’s brothers.
Subsequently, Gardaí searched the area and discovered the body of Willie Hennessy, also with serious head injuries, in a shed.
Lack of
Johnny Hennessy could not be found and his red Toyota Corolla truck was not in the yard.
Gardaí issued an appeal for information about the truck, but warned the public not to approach the vehicle.
However, they later ruled out the possibility that Johnny Hennessy could be armed, as was initially suspected. There was no firearm registered to anyone linked to the estate and a preliminary examination of the bodies of his brothers revealed that they had been attacked with an ax that was discarded nearby.
The Toyota Corolla was later found abandoned near St. Joseph’s Church in nearby Killacluig and the Garda Air Support Unit and the Garda Dog Unit were called in to assist in the search for Johnny Hennessy.
Shortly after noon, the air support unit saw a body floating in the Funcheon River and the Garda water unit quickly recovered the body, identified as that of Johnny Hennessy.
His remains were taken to Cork University Hospital (CUH).
The bodies of Paddy and Willie Hennessy were also taken to CUH, where assistant state pathologist Dr. Margot Bolster will perform autopsies on the three brothers today.
Gardaí has confirmed that they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the men’s deaths.
Crime scene examined
Meanwhile, Garda technical experts continued last night examining crime scenes at the farm and the log yard, as well as the area where the truck was discovered.
No notes or other evidence was found last night to suggest that Johnny Hennessy’s attack was premeditated.
Investigators hope to interview the GPs who treated the three brothers, as well as the lawyers who handled their affairs, in an attempt to shed some light on what triggered the sequence of events.
The Gardaí is expected to wait for Dr. Bolster’s findings before formally opening a murder investigation. They will send a file on the murders to the Director of Public Prosecutions before preparing a file for an investigation at the North Cork Coroner’s Court.
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