Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Postmortem over man’s ‘stab death’
A POSTMORTEM will be held today to determine the cause of death of a man found at a block of flats.
It is understood Mark Stanford, 49, suffered stab wounds in an incident in East Belfast on Thursday night.
Police maintained a heavy presence overnight and throughout yesterday at the flats on Kings Road.
One resident, who came across the scene on Thursday, said: “The guy was lifeless. I’ve lived here since I was born and nothing has happened like this. It’s always quiet. I hardly slept last night... it’s shocking to see somebody lying dead.” Alliance councillor Peter Mcreynolds told the Mirror the PSNI is treating the incident as “suspicious”.
He said: “I’ve spoken to the police and they’re keeping it along the lines of a suspicious death.
“They’re waiting until the postmortem is carried out before saying anything specific.
“A lot of the talk from local residents is just shock.
“I’m in and out of Tullycarnet quite regularly and to be aware of such a police presence and a death is very, very sad for the area.” Detectives from the Major Investigation Team are investigating the death and have made one arrest. Appealing for information and witnesses, a spokesman said: “A 26-year-old man has been arrested in the Belfast area and is currently in Musgrave Serious Crime Suite where he is being questioned by detectives.
“A postmortem is due to take place to determine the cause of death and there are no further details at this time.
“I would appeal to anyone who was in the Kings Road area last night between 6pm and 8pm and saw anything that may be of assistance to our investigation, please call 101 and ask to speak to detectives in Ladas Drive.”