By Cathy Morris and Inês Lopes [email protected]
The body of Irish tourist Paul Houston who was beaten to death by two men “with a Brazilian accent’ in Alvor on September 6 has been released by the coroner’s office in Portimão and is expected to arrive in Ireland today (September 11).
According to national newspaper Correio da Manhã today (Friday), Paul Houston died of a post-traumatic brain haemorrhage caused by violent beating.
The funeral of the 51-year-old businessman is to take place on Monday and a large crowd from the North West business community, golfing fraternity as well as family and friends, are expected to attend.
Strong leads are being followed by police investigating the murder of the Irish businessman who was found dead on a walkway in Alvor early on Sunday morning.
According to reports in the Portuguese press, the police are in possession of evidence that could lead to the identification of the murder suspects, who spoke with a Brazilian accent according to witnesses.
Paul Houston from Londonderry, Northern Ireland, had been on a golfing holiday in Alvor, near Portimão, with his wife Celine and another couple. The prominent business man from Northern Ireland was a father of four and the president of Greencastle Golf Club in Co. Donegal.
The Algarve Resident can confirm that on Saturday, September 5, in the late afternoon Paul Houston took a walk from his hotel near the beach in Alvor into the main village where he had arranged to meet his wife and friends. The two couples spent the evening in Alvor, where they had a meal and spent time at a karaoke bar.
At around midnight, Celine Houston and the couple left the bar and walked back to the hotel. Paul Houston had wanted to stay behind at the bar.
Close to 5am on Sunday, police received an anonymous call from a member of the public informing them that a man was lying on the ground following a violent assault on the pedestrian walkway at the waterside OF Alvor Estuary.
Police officers from Portimão found the body of a “foreign looking” man on a bloodstained footpath. The link to Paul Houston was made hours later when his wife raised the alarm at the hotel reception that her husband had not returned that night.
Police confirmed to the Algarve Resident that they were investigating a homicide and according to the national press, police sources said the net was closing on the men suspected of killing Paul Houston who is believed to have resisted a robbery.
According to Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manhã, a witness on a nearby boat told police he had seen “two men violently kicking the victim”. The witness said he had used binoculars to take a closer look after hearing shouting between four and five in the morning on Sunday.
The same newspaper has reported another witness hearing two men with Brazilian accents.
An autopsy on the body of Paul Houston was carried out on Tuesday at the Institute of Legal Medicine in Portimão, with samples sent for analysis in Lisbon.
According to the coroner’s office, doctors have 30 days to send a full report on the autopsy to the public prosecutor.
Paul Houston’s four children flew in on Tuesday to join their mother.
At the time of going to press, police could not confirm if any arrests had been made in connection with the investigation.
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