Murder victim died weeks ago

Mar 26 2003 By Helen Harper, Bangor And Anglesey Mail

THE body of a murdered man lay in his Holyhead flat for several weeks before being discovered at the weekend.

Police were only able to identify 41-year-old Michael Christopher Sheridan by his fingerprints. He had died from a single stab wound.

Police were called to the house in V ictoria Road at midday last Saturday after the body was discovered by his landlady.

A post mortem was carried out by Home Office pathologist Dr Brian Rogers on Saturday evening, and on Monday, the victim was identified as Mr Sheridan, who was unemployed and had connections with southern

Ireland.

Detective Superintendent Ross Duffield, has appealed for any information about Mr Sheridan.

Mr Duffield said: "Mr Sheridan's death is being treated as a murder inquiry. He suffered a stab wound to his body as a result of which he died.

"It would appear that he had been there for several weeks, and we can be no more precise than that at this present time.

"The information that I am seeking at the moment is for anybody in the Holyhead area who knew Mr Sheridan, and might be able to give any information on his background, his associates and his friends.

"Thereare a number of lines of inquiry that we are following.

"He is a man who has lived in Holyhead for the last 12 months, and before that he has lived in various parts of the country. He has southern Irish connections.

"He has lived alone in this particular flat, and I share the concern that nobody knew about his death earlier," Mr Duffield said

"The body was discovered by the landlady of the actual flat he was renting. There was a level of decomposition, and formal identification has only been achieved this morning by means of forensic efforts, by fingerprints."

On Sunday, police cordoned off the house and set up a tent outside, while a major incident room has been set up at Holyhead Police Station.

* Anyone with any information is asked to telephone North Wales Police on their English line 0845 6071002, or their Welsh line on 0845 6071001.