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Gardaí believes that a homeless man from Eastern Europe was beaten to death after protesting with a young man who had stolen his mobile phone.
A 16-year-old boy has been arrested and is currently being interviewed by the Gardaí. He was arrested after his 17-year-old friend appeared before the Gardaí and said he had witnessed the victim being beaten to death in the Kilmainham area of Dublin in the early hours of Monday morning.
Gardaí is “reasonably certain” that he has identified the victim and is trying to locate his family in Eastern Europe to inform them of the death, a source said.
The victim, who is 40, had been living in Ireland for several years and was in contact with homeless services here. She had been sleeping out in the open for the past few months.
“He would have taken advantage of our services most nights of the week,” said Tony Walsh of Feed the Homeless. “He was a very respectful man. Very friendly.
“It was very sad to hear the news this morning. The loss of life in the streets is always a tragedy, but particularly in this case ”.
Researchers are still trying to piece together the exact sequence of events that led to the man’s death. A group of young men are believed to have been in the Kilmainham area on Sunday night and that one of them stole a phone from the victim who had been sleeping in an alley.
The youth may have left the scene before returning and engaging in a verbal discussion with the victim. The teenager then allegedly beat the man to death with his fists and kicked him. “We do not believe that any weapon was involved. He did it with his own hands. “Said a source.
Another teenager who witnessed the assault went to Gardaí and the 16-year-old suspect was arrested shortly thereafter.
The man’s body was found on Madison Road in the early hours of Monday morning. Gardaí was alerted to the incident around 1.30 am.
The lane parallels South Circular Road and runs between Madison Road and Mayfield Road, two rows of red brick houses. Both ends were sealed Monday morning. A bouquet of flowers was left near the Mayfield Road entrance.
The Gardaí opened a murder investigation and established an incident room at the Kevin Street Garda station.
The young man is detained under article 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 and can be interrogated for up to 24 hours.
The forensic examination of the scene continues and an autopsy will be performed on the victim shortly.
Gardaí says they are following a defined line of investigation. They are asking witnesses, particularly anyone who was in the Madison Lane area between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m., to contact them on Kevin Street at 01666 9400 or the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111.
This year there has been an increase in homeless deaths in Ireland, despite fewer people sleeping on the streets during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
Thirty-two homeless people have died so far in 2020, including ten deaths in July alone.
There is no official count of the number of people sleeping poorly in Dublin, as the count by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive was suspended due to the pandemic. However, Simon Community’s Street Outreach Service said it dealt with 110 people last month, while Feed the Homeless said it was helping 120 people a night in Dublin.
People need “safe beds,” Walsh said. “We are seeing a really dramatic increase again in the number of people sleeping on the streets at night.”
He called for a review of the DHRE Harsh Sleepers Helpline to ensure that “no one in need of a bed is turned away.”
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