A murder enquiry is underway after a 34-year-old man died last night after sustaining serious head injuries following a violent assault in his cell at Mountjoy prison on Friday.
The ventilator that was keeping Robert O’Connor from Darndale alive at Dublin’s Mater Hospital was switched off last night.
Its reported that four inmates who entered the victim’s cell on Friday evening before O’Connor was brutally beaten were identified on CCTV before being separated from other prisoners.
In a statement the Irish Prison Service said it could confirm the prisoner seriously injured in an incident at Mountjoy Prison has died.
“The Irish Prison Service wishes to extend our deepest sympathies to his family and friends at this time. The incident continues to be investigated by the Irish Prison Service and the Gardaí.
“In addition all deaths in custody are subject to investigation by the Inspector of Prisons.”
O’Connor had just been sentenced two days before the attack for six-and-a-half years after admitting to the possession of a semi-automatic pistol in Finglas last October.
The Irish Independent reports that one of the suspects identified is linked to the Kinahan cartel while another is serving a lengthy sentence for an aggravated burglary.
O’Connor had been on remanded in custody in Cloverhill prison since last October but was moved to Mountjoy in February after picking up a six-month sentence for a separate offence.
