Foul play ruled out after ‘tortured soul’ found in Cork flat after six months
Mark Watters, who described himself as a screenwriter, had lived in the West Cork area for several years. Picture: Facebook
Gardaí have ruled out foul play following the discovery of the body of a man who may have lain dead in his flat in West Cork for almost six months.
Mark Watters, 61, who was originally from Walkinstown in Dublin, was found dead in the hallway of his flat at the Courtyard, just off Main Street in Castletownbere on Tuesday afternoon, by maintenance staff who called to check on the building.
Gardaí were alerted and the scene was sealed off for a preliminary examination, which found no signs of trauma on the body, and no signs of forced entry or disturbance in the flat. The body was later removed to Cork University Hospital for an autopsy. It is hoped this may be able to determine a cause of death and shed light on when death occurred.
However, gardaí have begun conducting door-to-door inquiries in the area, and checking CCTV systems in the town centre, to see if they can establish when Mr Watters was last seen alive.
It was also reported by that gardaí found an unopened Christmas card with a December 18 date stamp in the flat suggesting that Mr Watters may have died sometime around the middle of last December.
They are also checking his record of social welfare collection, his banking records, his mobile phone and his social media accounts to see if that can help narrow down the window of death.
Mr Watters has a sister living in England. His former partner and their adult son live overseas but it is understood they contacted mutual friends in Castletownbere last August enquiring about his whereabouts.
They were advised to contact gardaí, who in turn conducted a welfare check on Mr Watters and found that he was alive and well.
Mr Watters, who described himself as a screenwriter, had lived in the West Cork area for several years, spending most of the summer months in nearby Allihies.
Locals said however that he kept himself to himself, with one describing him as a “tortured soul”.
“It’s a sad end, and it’s sad to think that he died alone, and lay dead and undiscovered for so long but there were often periods where several months would go by without seeing him, and people would ask about him, and then he’d turn up again, so it wasn’t unusual for people not to see him around for months on end,” one man said.
Richie Hodges, who was a friend of Mark Watters described him as a very intelligent and creative person.
“I moved to Allihies 19 years and fairly quickly we became friends with Mark. He was very nice. He had lots of ideas and was very creative. He did some nice things for the community. When we went on holidays he minded the house because that was how much we trusted him.
He recalled the last time they socialised together: “The last time I saw him was on Chinese New Year two years ago. He had distanced himself from everything and everyone so we were delighted that he rang us. We celebrated Chinese New Year together because it coincided with his birthday and that was the last time we met up him.
"We thought he might contact us after that but he didn’t. We didn’t give up on him but sadly he gave up on everything. We had spent a lot of time with him but he slowly distanced himself from us. The only time we saw was if we bumped into him at the shops. He had his ups and downs in life like everybody else but he was a lovely guy."
Mr Hodge said he thinks the late Mr Watters would like to be "remembered for the fact he had a creative side to him. He was a very sociable guy but somehow he lost his way. My wife and I wanted to keep in contact but in the end it just fell apart and we didn’t see him for two years. I only have good memories of him."
Caitríona Twomey, who was also a friend of Mark’s, has fond memories of the Dublin native.
"Mark was easy to like. He was always respectful and always nice. Mark loved the few words. It could be about any topic, but it was always pleasant. There was something very low key about him. We talked a lot about concerts and music a lot. Mark had a very genuine and gentle side to him. He was the kind of person who would ask how you are and wait for an answer. Most people only mean this as a greeting but he genuinely wanted to know you were okay.”
She offered her condolences to his family adding: “Families check up all the time but these horrible things happen for some reason. It was obvious that he loved his family and they loved him. Our hearts are with them all.”
The findings of the autopsy, and the results of the garda investigation, will form part of a garda file which will be prepared for the coroner’s court in due course.
