A gentleman, identified locally as Mykola Dernovi, tragically lost his life in his apartment located in The Diamond area of Clones, County Monaghan. The 46-year old expatriate was originally from Ukraine and had been living in Ireland for several years. While enquiries into the cause of his death were ongoing, it was confirmed that Mr Dernovi died from natural causes, according to the postmortem report released late Monday evening.
Although not treated as homicide, authorities were not discounting foul play due to observable assault injuries on Mr Dernovi’s body. The Gardaí continued their criminal investigation to establish how these injuries had occurred. It was suspected that the man had been victim to an assault on the fatal Saturday night; his health had alarmingly deteriorated before the emergency services were alerted.
Upon their arrival, paramedics attempted in vain to save the Ukrainian native. Immediately after Mr Dernovi was declared deceased at the scene, a criminal investigation was initiated, with the Gardaí securing the area for evidence collection and beginning the task of interviewing neighbours as potential witnesses.
The Gardaí are urgently seeking to contact a foreign national familiar to Mr Dernovi. The belief is that the unidentified man might have hastily exited Clones, which is barely over a kilometre from the border, following a significant decline in Mr Dernovi’s condition mandating urgent medical attention.
The law enforcement agency secured the premises where Mr Dernovi lost his life until Sunday morning, leaving his body untouched in anticipation of the arrival of a forensic pathologist and the Garda Technical Bureau.
The Gardaí responded to queries on the case late Monday, stating, “The investigation into the circumstances leading to the male body found in an apartment at The Diamond, Clones, Co Monaghan, on Saturday, June 1st night, remains ongoing.” They also noted that the postmortem results were being held back for operational reasons.
“An Garda Síochána persistently requests individuals possessing any knowledge about this incident or purported attack on the deceased to get in touch with the investigative team at Clones Garda station on 047 51025, or to reach out via the confidential Garda phone line on 1800 666 111, or at any local Garda station.”