Gardai are probing if a prisoner beaten in his cell was attacked on the orders of the Kinahan mob, the Irish Mirror has learned.
Robert O’Connor, 34, was rushed to the Mater Hospital on Friday. He suffered a bleed to the brain when up to four men set upon him last Friday. It has been reported this morning that O'Connor has died.
Although gardai have not ruled out that the attack was ordered from outside, investigators are now probing if a Dublin assassin sought approval from a senior Kinahan member in the jail. The contract killer – who is serving a lengthy sentence – was seen speaking to the cartel enforcer in the days before the beating.
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Officers want to see if the hitman put together the gang to target O’Connor, who was reportedly attacked in retaliation for a dispute he had with a relative of the killer outside of the prison. A source said of the hitman: “He’s a dangerous character who is a part of the Kinahan cohort but that aspect will be progressed and ruled in or out in the coming days.”
Yesterday, the Irish Mirror revealed how one of the gang “danced” on the victim as he lay prone. Prison staff were quickly on the scene and treated O’Connor before he was brought to the Mater Hospital.
Another one of the attack suspects is serving a lengthy sentence for an aggravated burglary. O’Connor had only been jailed two days before the attack for six-and- a-half years after admitting to the possession of a semi-automatic pistol in Finglas last October.
After being processed in Mountjoy, a “protection assessment” took place and he was moved from one part of the jail to another. However, he did not raise any concerns for his safety before the attack.
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