A man arrested in connection with the death of Limerick student Niall O’Brien in Greece is due to appear before a Greek judicial authority on Thursday to hear whether charges will be brought against him.
The 20-year-old Irish suspect, who was not known to Mr O’Brien, was arrested by police on the island of Ios on Monday following the 22-year-old's death.
Mr O’Brien, who was on holiday with a group of 20 friends, died from serious head injuries following an altercation with another man in the town of Chora, police said.
“On August 30th, a 20-year-old Irish citizen was arrested by police in Ios because another Irish citizen (22) died. He said they fought and he punched him and the other citizen fell on the street, and [he was taken] to the hospital and he died there,” a police spokeswoman said on Wednesday
“He hit his head as he fell on the ground, he was taken to the hospital and he died. The 20-year-old citizen was arrested by police officers and he went to the Public Prosecutor, and then on Thursday he will go to the Judicial Investigator,” she continued.
The arrested man and any other witnesses “will testify” before the judicial investigator “who will decide if [the suspect] will go to jail before his trial or if he will have restrictive [bail] measures imposed or if he will go free.
“It will be decided what will happen on Thursday. It’s not a court, it won’t be a trial,” she added.
Strangers
The spokeswoman confirmed the suspect and Mr O’Brien “were strangers” and the arrested man will remain in custody until a decision on potential charges is made.
“He declared there was a fight and during the fight one man fell on the ground and he died. But charges will be decided [by] the investigator and prosecutor, so I can’t tell you right now what the investigator will decide,” the spokeswoman said.
Police ordered a forensic examination of the scene and an autopsy of Mr O’Brien’s body as part of their enquiries.
Mr O’Brien was a star hurler with Broadford GAA club in South East Clare and a member and employee of Castletroy Golf Club in Co Limerick.
The Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust was liaising with the Mr O’Brien’s family about organising repatriation of his remains for burial, and the Department of Foreign Affairs said it was providing “consular assistance” to his family.
