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Three arrested as investigation into Ballincollig murder continues

Tuesday, 22 January 2019 17:52

Gardai have made their first arrest in their investigation into the murder of a 35-year-old father of two who died after being attacked by a machete wielding gang in front of his family at his home in Ballincollig last year.

Detectives investigating the murder of Micholaj Wilk, a Polish national, arrested two Poles and a Latvian, all in their 30s, at two separate locations in Ballincollig and a third location in Togher on the south side of Cork city this morning and were taken to Gurranebraher and the Bridewell Garda Stations.

All three were arrested on suspicion of facilitating and support an organized crime gang whom gardai suspect were behind Mr Wilk’s murder and they were detained under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act which allows gardai detain suspects for up to seven days.

The arrests follow a search of a commercial garage premises in the centre of Ballincollig by garda search teams and garda sniffer dogs supported by armed members of the Regional Support Unit in an operation that is still ongoing.

Mr Wilk, a Polish national who had been living in Ireland for nine years, was fatally injured when he was attacked by a machete wielding gang when they broke into the house he shared with his wife, Elzbeta and their two young children at Maglin near Balliincollig on June 10th last.

Mr Wilk was rushed by ambulance to Cork University Hospital after suffering a number of serious slash and hacking wounds to his arms and limbs but he died there soon after and gardai began a murder inquiry on receipt of post-mortem results.

Last November at Cork City Coroner’s Court, Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster said that her post-mortem found that Mr Wilk had died from shock and haemorrhage due to multiple blows from sharp weapons in association with a traumatic brain injury.

Det Insp Vincent O’Sullivan told Cork City Coroner, Philip Comyn that the garda investigation into Mr was active and several avenues of inquiry were being pursued by gardai into the death of Mr Wilk who worked as a gardener and handyman.

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