Gardaí investigating the discovery of human skeletal bones in a Cork home have discovered a match with the last listed owner of the property.
Dental records have identified that Tim O’Sullivan, a native of Kerry, is the person whose remains were discovered in a boarded-up home in Mallow, Co. Cork, last week after going unnoticed for about 20 years.
Butter discovered in the Beecher Street home had an expiration date of 2001, which suggests that Mr. O’Sullivan’s remains had been present in the one-story terraced home for about 20 years. The local authority had obtained compulsory order proceedings, and the house was boarded up and abandoned.
The remains were discovered in the house last Friday, and Gardai immediately launched an investigation. It is believed that Mr. O’Sullivan stopped appearing in the neighbourhood more than twenty years ago, at the age of early sixty.
He had lived in the UK for a considerable amount of time, so it was assumed that he had returned there.
As he had previously received medical attention for mental health issues, other locals speculated that he might have checked himself into a psychiatric facility in Cork.
After receiving complaints about a vermin infestation, Cork County Council employees entered the property last Friday and discovered the remains.
The remains of Mr. O’Sullivan were discovered in a bed in the place he owned. A duvet was placed over him.
The boards on the windows and front door had been taken off by the local authority workers so they could enter the home. In order to get ready for a pest control company, they had planned to close the drains and clean the property.
It is believed that Mr. O’Sullivan has family buried in Cahersiveen, County Kerry. He was a printer in the UK, but when he returned to Ireland, he was unemployed.
Dr. Margaret Bolster, an assistant state pathologist, performed a postmortem on the body parts. There was no indication of wrongdoing.
The Coroner’s Court will receive a file, and an inquest will soon be held. Statements from locals who knew Mr. O’Sullivan and from professionals who interacted with him regarding his medical care have been collected.