Two arrests in Bandon murder
GARDAI have arrested two people in connection with the murder of an English father of four.
The man and woman -- in their late 20s and early 30s -- were arrested yesterday morning for questioning in connection with the death of John Forrester, 42, last November in Bandon, Co Cork.
They were arrested in Cork city and taken to Bandon garda station for questioning. The duo can be questioned for an initial period of 24 hours.
The arrests follow a major 11-week probe by gardai into the killing of Mr Forrester in which forensic tests were said to be crucial.
Mr Forrester -- originally from Blackpool, in Lancashire, in the UK -- was recovered from the River Bandon some 3km downstream of the west Cork town on November 15.
His body was wrapped in a rug and he was bound by his hands and feet. He died from a frenzied attack in which he suffered severe injuries to his head and neck.
The grim discovery came just 24 hours after the body of Jonathan Duke, 27, was recovered from the River Bandon.
Both Mr Duke and Mr Forrester lived at the same flats complex at Bridge House in Bandon, Co Cork.
Gardai had great difficulty in tracing Mr Forrester's family in the UK given that he had lived a transient lifestyle for almost two decades.
Gardai and Lancashire police eventually traced his relatives in both Blackpool and Lincoln and his sister, niece and nephew visited west Cork last November.
Mr Forrester's aunt, Joyce, speaking from the UK, said he had been a loner for most of his adult life.
"The last I knew he was working in Spain as a ski instructor," she said. His relatives have no idea why he decided to relocate to Ireland.
The Forrester family laid a wreath at the spot where his body was recovered -- and then had a three-hour meeting with Michelle Duke whose son, Jonathan, was recovered from the same river.
Mr Forrester was nicknamed 'Johnny English' and 'Rambler' in Bandon and suffered from a chronic alcohol problem.
- Ralph Riegel
Originally published in
