A man who was found dead at his home in West Cork had been helped home by neighbours the night before following an apparent assault.
A post mortem is due to be carried out today on the body of the 51-year-old man who died in suspicious circumstances in Skibbereen.
The remains of the man, named locally as John Ustic originally from England, were found in a house in the town by his partner yesterday morning.
The deceased, who was originally from England, is understood to have moved to West Cork several years ago before settling in the West Cork town.
He had been living in a terraced house on High Street, very close to Skibbereen Garda Station, for at least a year.
The man has a number of injuries, but officers have not ruled out the possibility that he may have suffered them in a fall.
The Irish Examiner has learned that the deceased, who had been socialising in the town on Sunday evening, was found in a distressed state around 10pm in a car park.
He had apparent injuries following an altercation, and was helped to his home by neighbours.
It is understood that they were satisfied the man was OK once they got him home.
Gardaí say they have carried out door-to-door enquiries in the town to try and trace his movements before he arrived home on Sunday night.
A preliminary examination of the scene showed no sign of forced entry even though there was some disarray in the house.
They say the direction of the investigation will be dictated by the results of the post mortem.