Gardaí have formally upgraded their investigation into the death of a 42-year-old man in Bandon, Co Cork, to a murder inquiry.
Gardaí made the decision after reviewing the findings of a postmortem carried out on the body of John Forrester last night by Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster.
The results of the postmortem have not been released but it is understood they confirmed that Mr Forrester died a violent death after being stabbed a number of times.
Gardaí have concluded their search of the River Bandon where Mr Forrester's body was discovered yesterday by two gardaí in canoes during a search operation.
Members of the Garda Technical Bureau are continuing with their examination of a flat in a house near the bridge in Bandon where they believe Mr Forrester was assaulted.
Gardaí have also begun examining CCTV footage from premises around the town in the bid to establish Mr Forrester's last movements following a last confirmed sighting at 7.30pm on Saturday
Gardaí believe that Mr Forrester’s body was thrown over a railing into the Bandon, which flows just beside the house.
Mr Forrester used to stay in a ground-floor flat in the house, which is near the centre of Bandon, and it was known that people used to gather in an upstairs flat in the house for drinks parties.
A native of Blackpool in England, Mr Forrester had been living in Ireland since at least 2007 and was living in Bandon for the past two years. He was unemployed and in receipt of social welfare and living in rented accommodation in the town.
