Gardaí are investigating a bizarre incident in County Carlow after two men brought a man's dead body to a local post office in an attempt to withdraw his pension.
The incident took place at the post office on Staplestown Road in Carlow Town on Friday afternoon.
A man first entered the post office at 11:30 a.m. seeking to withdraw a weekly pension on behalf of another man. Staff at the post office informed him that the pensioner would have to be present in the shop for any money to be paid out.
A short time later, two men entered the post office accompanied by a third man in his 60s.
The two men appear to have attempted to withdraw a pension on behalf of the third man, who appeared to be propped up.
A woman who was in the post office at the time became suspicious of the man's movements and alerted staff.
Staff immediately contacted emergency services and no money was handed over.
The two men then allegedly left the man's body at the scene in an attempt to flee after suspicions were raised.
An ambulance crew and several gardaí arrived shortly afterward and the man was declared dead at the scene.
The man is believed to be 66 years old and a resident of Pollerton Road near the post office.
The Irish Times reports that a house on Pollerton Road has been sealed off as a crime scene, while it is also understood that there were CCTV cameras in operation in the post office at the time of the incident.
The deceased man is believed to have been well known to the two men who moved his body.
A local woman whose daughter witnessed the man being carried into the post office said that people thought the man was having a heart attack.
"She [her daughter] was leaving my house at the time and said the man looked unwell as his feet were dragging the ground," the woman told the Irish Independent.
She added that there was a queue outside the post office at the time of the incident.
"It’s a small shop and you’re only allowed three at a time with social distancing. People were in shock as they thought he was after having a heart attack."
Mayor of Carlow Ken Murnane said that he was "absolutely shocked" by the incident.
"I cannot believe anyone would do something like that. It beggars belief, I’m just shocked." Murnane told the Irish Independent.
Local Fine Gael councilor Fergal Browne said that the incident was "very upsetting for everyone locally".
Browne described the deceased man as a "decent guy" who was well-liked in the community.
"You couldn’t make up what happened," Browne told the Irish Times. "It’s unreal. You are looking at it as a rational person, but whoever did this were not rational."
Comments