23/10/2009

'Mummified' Cork Man Found

The body of a Cork man who lived alone has been found in his home partially "mummified" after remaining undiscovered for five weeks.

David Barry's is assumed to have died on the bed of his house of natural causes, with all the windows and doors closed and locked and the electric heating system still on.

The body was discovered in the advanced stages of decomposition on a bed in an upstairs bedroom. Gardai confirmed that there was no sign of a disturbance.

Assistant State Pathologist Margaret Bolster said that, due to the advanced state of decomposition, it was impossible to determine the cause of death and revealed in her report the body had begun to "mummify".

Concerns were raised about the welfare of the 53-year-old after a teenager, who was doing a door-to-door collection, contacted Gardaí in July after becoming worried about the large quantity of flies on the inside windows of the man's home.

Yesterday, a Cork Coroner's inquest heard that Mr Barry, a single man who lived alone at 35 Palmbury Orchard, Lehenaghmore, Cork, lived in a house that previously belonged to his mother.

His sister, Valerie Barry, last saw him alive after driving him into Cork city centre on June 24.

Mr Barry had suffered from two bouts of tuberculosis and had been treated for repeated chest infections.

The inquest heard that after concerns about Mr Barry's welfare were raised with gardai, officers went to the house and decided to force their way in.

Gardai were shocked by the large number of blue bottles on the windows and the bad smell coming from the upstairs section of the house.

(DW/BMcC)

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