The second suspected murder victim discovered in Sligo Town this week has been named as 58 year Michael Snee.
Gardaí have commenced two separate murder investigations into the deaths of Michael Snee (58) and Aidan Moffitt (42) who were both found dead this week.
Chief Superintendent Aidan Glacken of Sligo Garda Station gave a statement today on the status of the investigation into the violent deaths of two men.
Michael Snee was found dead by Gardaí at a private residence on the Connaughton Road late on Tuesday night following a 99 call.
The day prior, at approximately 8:30pm, Gardaí attended at a private residence at Cartron Heights following a call from a member of the public, where they found the body of 42 year old Aidan Moffit.
Both men had been the subject of vicious assaults, and were found with serious injuries, according to the Superintendent.
Michael and Aidan were well known and respected in this community,” Chief Superintendent Glacken said. “They were assaulted and murdered in their own homes.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with their families at this time and indeed their friends and the wider community in Sligo.”
“Family Liaison Officers have been provided to both Michael and Aidan’s families and An Garda Síochána continue to provide ongoing support to the families.”
“I have commenced two separate murder investigations. A Senior Investigating Officer is in charge of each investigation supported by an incident room.”
“Substantial Garda resources are dedicated to these investigations with further support from Regional and National Units.”
“Both scenes have been sealed off and remain so, the Garda Technical Bureau are conducting a detailed forensic examination of each scene.”
A postmortem examination was carried out on Aidan Moffitt yesterday by the State Pathologist, and an examination on Michael Snee is expected to take place today.
“I am not releasing any details of the post mortem examination for operational reasons,” Superintendent Glacken said.
A man in his 20s was arrested shortly after 1:30am on Wednesday morning on suspicion of murder following the discovery of Michael Snee.
He remains in custody at Sligo Garda Station under section 4 Criminal Justice Act 1984.
The Superintendent said that no further comment would be made on that aspect of the investigation at this time, adding that Gardaí are continuing to keep an open mind.
“I would like to thank the community for their cooperation and assistance so far, information received from across the community continues to assist us in our investigation.”
“It is heartening to see such cross community support at this time. I continue to appeal to the public for their assistance in that regard.”
“We are actively investigating as to whether there is any hate related motive to these murders, An Garda Síochána will endeavour to seek out all the available evidence, and ultimately it will be for a Court to decide on the motivation behind these appalling crimes.”
Gardaí are also investigating whether Michael and Aidan may have met their attacker online.
“We continue to explore all the circumstances of these cases and are examining another recent incident which occurred in the Sligo area.”
“I am appealing to any person who may have been subject of any unwanted approaches or who was assaulted or otherwise attacked to contact the incident room at Sligo Garda Station.”
“I have a dedicated diversity team here, we need to hear from you, we are here to listen to you and we are here to support you.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Sligo Garda Station at the dedicated Incident Room phone number 071 9157088, the Garda Confidential Line phone number 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.
“I would like to reassure the public that all any information received will be treated in the strictest confidence.”
“Finally, our thoughts and prayers are with Michael’s and Aidan’s families at this time.”
