Gardaí treating death of man found stabbed, shot and thrown into river as suspicious

Gardaí say they are treating the death of a 36 year-old man who was stabbed, shot and thrown into the river Liffey in Dublin as suspicious.

Detective John Higgins is in charge of the investigation and he told reporters at a press conference this morning that he’s not ruling out foul play.

“We have to weigh up all options. Stabbing yourself is certainly achievable and yes, it is also possible to shoot yourself but what first raised my suspicions in this case is the fact that the victim was stabbed 47 times, shot 3 times in the head and then thrown in the river. We tried to re-enact a man doing this to himself and it proved quite tricky to say the least.”

The dead man has been named as Anto ‘Slasher’ Heffernan. He was known to Gardaí and had 87 previous convictions, mainly for assault and drug dealing.

One journalist put it to Detective Higgins that it was surely obvious what happened to the victim.

“That’s why I’m a detective and you’re not. Just go and write your little articles and leave the Police work to the professionals. Always jumping to conclusions you people. I have over 30 years of experience so I know what I’m talking about and as far as I’m concerned, there is every chance that what happened to this man was done by someone else. We’ll keep you all posted.”