January 25, 2022

-BizPac Review

 

In a scene reminiscent of the film “Weekend at Bernie’s,” police in Ireland have been investigating after reports that two men dragged a dead man to a local post office to allegedly collect his pension.

The Irish Times reported that a man had gone to the post office on Staplestown Road in the town of Carlow on Friday morning to inquire about collecting someone’s pension, saying the pensioner “was ill and could not come himself.” A post office employee reportedly told him that the recipient had to be present.

The man left and allegedly solicited help from a second man before returning around 11 a.m. with the pensioner in tow. The two men had propped him up, but fled the scene upon being challenged, leaving the dead man behind.

Irish police — or “gardai,” guardians of the peace — have determined that pensioner Peader Doyle, 66, was alive the morning of the incident.

“Garda sources said that as the medical evidence gathered so far suggested Mr Doyle had just died, the possibility that this happened in the post office has not been ruled out. In that case, no criminal charges would arise as no offence would have been committed,” The Irish Times reported.

The Times also noted that the postmortem has been done and that no foul play was indicated; no exact time of death has been established, but it has been determined to be some time that Friday morning.

CCTV recorded along the route from Doyle’s home to the post office is being requested, according to the Times. Doyle’s home was 500 meters from the post office, and gardai still have yet to determine if he died at home or en route to the store. They hope to determine if he was propped up the entire journey or if he had been walking under his own steam for some of it.

“We are looking at things like witness statements and CCTV footage to see what condition Peader [Doyle] was in as he was being taken from the house to the post office,” said one Garda source.

The men involved have also been interviewed by the police. They are in their 30’s and allegedly knew the deceased. One of the men told the gardai that Doyle was alive at the time they departed his house and that he had taken a drink of water just before leaving.

While this case is very unusual, a Garda source says that the men may face several charges, including “failing to notify the authorities of a death or attempting to fraudulently obtain a dead person’s pension payment,” according to The Times.

Carlow Mayor Ken Murnane said the incident had left town residents in a state of shock.

“It’s just mind-boggling that anyone could happen to do something like that,” Murnane said. “It beggars belief. It’s like a Hitchcock movie.”

Twitter users had some fun with this one:

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