Body of man, 61, found in Cork flat may have lain undiscovered since before Christmas as probe into death cause

FOUL play has been ruled out after the body of a man was found in a flat in Cork this week.

However, there are fears that the man’s remains may have lain undiscovered for months.

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Mark Watters, 61, originally from Walkinstown in Dublin, was found dead in the hallway of his flat at the Courtyard complex in Castletownbere.

The grim find was made on Wednesday afternoon when maintenance staff called to check on the flat.

Gardaí are currently carrying out enquiries following the discovery, however, they found no signs of trauma on the body, and no signs of forced entry or disturbance in the flat.

Mr Watters body was removed to Cork University Hospital for an autopsy.

It is hoped this may be able to determine a cause of death and shed light on when death occurred.

It is believed that the body of the man may have been in the flat in West Cork for almost six months, The Irish Examiner has reported.

It has been reported by The Irish Times that Gardaí also discovered an unopened Christmas card with a December 18 date stamp in the flat, leading them to believe he may have died in the middle of December.

Gardaí have also begun conducting door-to-door inquiries in the area as well as checking CCTV systems in the town to establish when Watters was last seen alive.

The results of a post-mortem examination will then determine the course of the Garda investigation.

Foul play is currently not being suspected as the investigation remains in its early stages.

Gardai are checking the man’s record of social welfare collection, his banking records, his mobile phone and his social media accounts to establish a time frame.

Mr Watters is said to have had a sister living in England and his former partner and their son living overseas, who contacted a mutual friend in August to look into his whereabouts.

‘Artistic and intelligent’

After contacting Gardaí, they conducted a welfare check and established he was alive and well at the time.

Local Richie Hodges, who was a friend of Marks, described him as a very intelligent and creative person.

He said: “He was very artistic and intelligent.

“Mark could talk to anyone about everything and anything. He was into screen writing.”