THE daughter of a homeless man who was murdered and then decapitated has pleaded for people to assist gardaí in bringing his brutal killer to justice.

Francis ‘Frankie’ Dunne (64) was discovered in the garden of a derelict Cork house with his head and both his arms severed on December 28.

The garda investigation into Mr Dunne’s brutal murder is now expected to involve both Europol and Interpol as it emerged a person of interest to detectives left Ireland in the 24 hours after the killing.

Now, Mr Dunne’s daughter Catherine, urged the killer to surrender themselves to gardaí.

“It is hard to accept the death of a loved one especially when we did not get to say goodbye,”  she told VirginMedia News.

“My dad was taken so suddenly and so shockingly.”

“The grief and pain is unbearable – I hope the person responsible is caught and justice is served for such an horrific crime.”

“As a family we are absolutely heartbroken – it is like a bad nightmare that never ends. Thank you (Cork public) for all the continuous love and support. I hope my dad is at peace now.”

The Dunne family – in recognition of the kindness shown to Frankie by various Cork charities – launched an appeal in his name to raise €5,000 for Cork Simon and Caring for Cork Homeless.

Mr Dunne’s partially dismembered body was discovered in the garden of a derelict house on Cork’s Boreenmanna Road at 4pm on December 28.

He had been subjected to a savage beating.

When discovered, his body had been decapitated and both his arms had been severed – with the body parts later found in the garden.

Gardaí launched a murder investigation following a post mortem examination at Cork University Hospital (CUH) by Locum State Pathologist Dr Heidi Okkers.

More than 50 gardaí are now involved in the investigation into one of the most brutal murders ever witnessed in Cork.

Gardaí are trying to trace an Eastern European national who left Cork within 24 hours of Mr Dunne’s body being found and who, CCTV camera footage has indicated, may have met the homeless man in the day before his death.

Having studied CCTV footage and spoken to local residents, gardaí contacted the man’s former employer in a bid to trace him.

A subsequent analysis of the man’s mobile phone indicated he had travelled to Belfast on December 28/29.

Subsequent analysis of the phone revealed he travelled onwards to Edinburgh.

It is now believed that he left Scotland to return to his native Eastern Europe.

Detectives have learned that the man, after a disagreement with his male partner, had moved out of his normal accommodation several weeks ago.

The man had been squatting in a premises on Boreenmanna Road over recent times.

Gardaí believe that the individual was in the company of Mr Dunne – who had been staying in a Cork Simon-operated support facility on Boreenmanna Road – on Friday December 27 and possibly into Saturday December 28.

Detectives are also investigating whether the man may be linked to the theft of €1,000 from a premises in Cork less than 2km from the murder site.

A quantity of clothing recovered by gardaí is now undergoing forensic analysis.

Both the PSNI and Scottish police are assisting garda inquiries but it is expected that a formal request for help will be issued to Europol and Interpol.

Mr Dunne is survived by his children John, Catherine and Chloe, four grandchildren, five siblings as well as nieces and nephews.

The deceased, whose Requiem Mass was staged in Cork last Wednesday, was described as someone who, despite his alcohol addiction problem and having been homeless for a time, always had a warm smile and a kind word for others.

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