Irish police have charged a man in connection to an incident where the body of a man was brought to a post office in an apparent attempt to claim his pension.
Peadar Doyle, 66, was brought to the post office on the Staplestown Road in Co Carlow, South-East Ireland, last Friday (21 January) by two men.
The two men left after staff became suspicious and concerned for Mr Doyle’s welfare.
It was later discovered that the man had died, and his body was removed from the post office.
On Wednesday, gardai investigating the incident arrested two men in their 30s.
The men were detained under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.
One of the men was released on Wednesday night without charge and gardai said a file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Mr Doyle's nephew, Declan Haughney, 40, appeared before a hearing of Kilkenny District Court charged with two counts of deception for allegedly attempting to withdraw his uncle's pension on two occasions.
No application was made for bail and Haughney was remanded in custody. He is set to appear at Carlow District Court on 2 February.
A Garda spokesperson said: “Following the arrest of two men in their 30s yesterday, as part of the ongoing investigation into an incident at a business premises in Carlow town on Friday, January 21, 2022, one of the men has been charged.
"He is scheduled to appear before Carlow District Court this morning, January 27, 2022.
“The second man has been released from custody and a file will be prepared for the DPP.”
Carlow mayor Ken Murnane said the local community is absolutely shocked by the reports.
He told PA news agency: “The whole town is in shock that anyone could actually think of doing something like that, it’s unbelievable.
“It’s just mind-boggling that anyone could happen to do something like that, it beggars belief. It’s like a Hitchcock movie.”
Local Fine Gael Cllr Fergal Browne told The Irish Times that the incident was 'shocking and very upsetting for everyone locally'.
Speaking about Mr Doyle, he said that he was a 'decent guy, very well regarded and liked and caused no offence to anybody,' adding: "You couldn’t make up what happened. It’s unreal. You are looking at it as a rational person, but whoever did this were not rational.”
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Rebecca Shepherd