Police are investigating if the bodies of an elderly couple lay dead in their house for over a year. The husband and wife, in their 70s, hadn’t been seen by neighbours in 18 months.
Detectives will have to wait for results of examinations to establish a time frame as to when the couple, from Cloneen, Tipperary died. A local source said: “The bodies could have been there for a long, long time.”
The Irish Mirror understands that they had not been seen for such a long time that some neighbours were under the impression they had moved from their house. But a local source said that suspicions arose in recent days and someone made gardai aware.
Officers called to the property at around 4pm yesterday and made the grim discovery. The source said: “Some neighbours thought they had moved away but sadly that wasn’t the case.
“The couple very much kept to themselves and not many would have known them personally but only on hello terms if they passed them walking or that sort of thing.” Locals in the area last night said the pair were from England.
Gardai confirmed that an investigation is underway as they probe “all circumstances” but early indications show that there may have been no foul play. The house was sealed off yesterday evening as the bodies remained there as the Garda Technical Bureau carried out an examination.
Investigators also confirmed that the offices of the State Pathologist have been notified. Local Councillor Mark Fitzgerald said people were stunned at the news.
He told the Irish Mirror: “The word broke and we are shocked in the community because we’re a rural, close knit community. Anyone passing away, it’s always a tragic event. But tragic circumstances like this, it makes it that bit more sad.”
The couple are understood to have been private people who kept to themselves and didn’t mix with the local community. Locals understood the couple had moved away and there was a general assumption that no one was living in the bungalow.
Councillor Mark Fitzgerald contacted the Gardaí to request a welfare check on the couple after one of their neighbours approached him with concerns. The neighbour felt it was odd that no one had moved into the house and the couple’s cars remained parked there.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
READ MORE:
-Husband of woman dead in Aberdeen home for years told cops she was 'on holiday'
-Mum hid rotting bodies of four babies in her wardrobe after keeping pregnancies secret
-Young woman took own life after feeling 'locked up by coronavirus'
-Woman 'lay dead in Scots home for five weeks' before body was discovered
