Father-of-five stabbed to death in row outside house will be laid to rest tomorrow

THE funeral of a murdered father-of-five from Londonderry will take place tomorrow.

Karol Kelly (35) will be laid to rest in the City Cemetery following a funeral Mass in St Mary’s Church in Creggan.

A family notice described him as the “loving father” of Kerri, Lucy, Cormac, Abagail and Jax as well as the “beloved son” of Francis and Philomena and “dear brother” of Francesca, Paul and Emma-Louise.

Mr Kelly was stabbed to death in the early hours of last Sunday outside a house in Grafton Street in the Rosemount area of Derry.

Three men — aged 17, 19 and 20 — have appeared in court charged with his murder.

The PSNI believes an altercation inside a property on Grafton Street took place immediately before the assault that resulted in Mr Kelly’s death.

Earlier this week Superintendent Jason Murphy, who is leading the investigation, voiced concern that “inaccurate information is currently circulating

Murdered: Karol Kelly

through the community” about Mr Kelly’s death.

“I am asking people to be responsible if they are discussing those events,” he said.

“I am asking people to base their views on facts, not rumour or speculation.”

Supt Murphy said there was no evidence of paramilitary involvement in the killing and there was no evidence the incident was linked to threats which may have been made by paramilitary groups in the past.