Gardaí were tonight investigating whether a young man in his 20s was dumped outside a wood in Wicklow or shot at the scene.
The body of the man was discovered with serious head wounds on Annalecka Bridge at 7.40am by a man who was travelling to work along the Hollywood to Glendalough road.
Superintendent Tom Mulligan, who is leading the investigation, said a thorough technical examination of the scene was being carried out.
“Like any investigation, we have to approach it with a wide open mind. The examination of the scene, which will re-commence tomorrow, should tell us something about how this person got there, when he got there or what condition he got there in,” he said.
“I’d be quite happy to say that the result of the technical examination should yield very valuable information or results for us.”
He said gardai had not yet identified the man.
The serious head wound which the man had suffered are believed to have been caused by a gunshot but gardai are awaiting the results of the post mortem by state pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy before launching a murder inquiry.
“Then we’ll make our mind up on what direction we need to go but I can tell you there’s a full and serious investigation ongoing,” said Superintendent Mulligan.
He appealed for anyone who was travelling recently on the road between Hollywood village and Glendalough to contact gardai.
“We would be very anxious to talk to those people because at this point in time we don’t know how the body got there or at what time in the night, or in what condition it arrived in,” he said.