Cork suspected murder-suicide possibly of controversial will

Gardaí, who is investigating the deaths of a father and two sons in what they believe was a homicide-suicide, hopes Tuesday’s autopsy will help them determine what exactly happened to the family at their North Cork home .

Gardaí described the incident in which Tadhg O’Sullivan (59) and his two sons Mark (26) and Diarmuid (23) were killed as a terrible tragedy when relatives of Mr O’Sullivan’s widow Anne ( 60) who were recently discharged from hospital after surgery.

Gardaí says they are open to what led to the tragedy, but they ask if the shootings could be linked to a dispute over a will in which Diarmuid missed part of the family farm in Castlemagner near Kanturk.

The farmhouse where the body of Mark O’Sullivan was found in an upstairs room was declared a crime scene yesterday and cordoned off by Gardaí, while Gardaí also cordoned off a field where the bodies of Tadhg and Diarmuid were found alongside two rifles .

The deputy state pathologist Dr. Margot Bolster arrived at the scene around 5:30 p.m. and conducted a preliminary examination of the bodies.

Gardaí also enlisted the services of the Garda Technical Bureau from Dublin, and ballistic experts traveled to Kanturk to examine the two rifles found alongside Tadhg and Diarmuid O’Sullivan to see if one or both of the weapons was used by Mark O’Sullivan in shooting were.

Single shot

Gardaí will use the results of Dr. Wait for Bolster’s autopsies at Cork University Hospital to see how many times Mark O’Sullivan has been shot. However, early indications were that Tadhg and Diarmuid O’Sullivan suffered individual gunshot wounds.

“We’ll have to wait for the results of the autopsies, but it’s possible Mark sustained more than one gunshot wound while a preliminary examination found Tadhg and Diarmuid each sustained a gunshot wound,” a Lake Garda source said.

“But we need to see the autopsy results and the ballistic and forensic tests on the two rifles to see if they shot themselves, or if they shot each other, or if one person shot the other and then shot himself Has. that has yet to be determined. “

Supt Adrian Gamble of the Cork North Division later appealed at a press conference in Kanturk to anyone who might have information that could help investigate the incidents to contact the Investigative Guard at Mallow Garda Railway Station on 022-31450.

Gardaí, under Chief Supt Tom Myers of the Cork North Division, appointed a family liaison officer to liaise with Ms. O’Sullivan, who was comforted by friends and neighbors.

Tadhg O’Sullivan was originally from Roskeen, between Mallow and Kanturk, and married on the farm, but never managed or worked the 150 hectare cultivation facility. Instead, he worked as a mechanic at Greenhall Motors in Buttevant, about 15 km away.

Got angry

Mark O’Sullivan graduated from University College Cork with a law degree and was an aspiring attorney, while his brother recently graduated with a degree in finance and corporate management. He is said to have started working in the area. He had worked part time at a local hardware store in Kanturk while he was a student and it is believed he had gotten quite angry and upset lately and feared that he might not inherit a stake in the farm that is labeled good farmland becomes.

The farm northeast of Kanturk had been rented to neighboring farmers for about 30 years since Ms. O’Sullivan’s father died.

Fine Gael local councilor John Paul O’Shea of ​​nearby Lombardstown said when news surfaced Monday morning and afternoon, people in Castlemagner and Kanturk were stunned to discover such a terrible tragedy on their doorstep.

“There is a total sense of disbelief,” he said. “The exact details of the case need to be confirmed, but it is obviously a very close community in Castlemagner. The confirmation that three people have passed away is very tragic and has been greeted with a real sense of sadness and loss in the area.

“People will find it very difficult to come to terms with this, but I have no doubt that the Castlemagner people will gather and support the family.”

Attorney General Helen McEntee expressed her condolences to “all those who are affected by this tragic and worrying incident”.

“I would like to thank the Gardaí and other emergency services that have visited the scene,” she said.