Police are investigating the suspicious death of a man who was found lying on a walkway in Alvor early on Sunday morning, September 6.
Paul Houston, 51, 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 land 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 at 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 could not confirm that there was a murder inquiry being carried out but said they were investigating an attempted robbery and a suspicious death.
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. At the time of going to press, police could not confirm if any arrests had been made in connection with the investigation.
The body of Paul Houston was taken to the morgue at Portimão hospital for an autopsy to be carried out this week.
Chief coroner Conceição Roubaco was not available for comment but the coroner’s office told the Algarve Resident that they were awaiting instruction from Portimão court before proceeding with the autopsy, the results of which should indicate whether or not police will change the status to a murder inquiry.
According to press in the UK, the family has expressed their gratitude to the Portuguese authorities for their “hard work” and assistance.
Paul Houston’s four children were expected to fly out to Portugal today (Tuesday) to be with their mother.
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