It is 15 years since the killing of Gus Hornibrook shocked the country after the pensioner was beaten and left to die at his Cork home.
The 2007 mystery has still not been solved despite numerous clues left behind by his killer and gardaí have now relaunched an appeal for information, according to the Irish Independent.
Gus, known locally as Gussie Hornibrook, 74, was murdered in his own home on November 6, 2007. There's no obvious motive as to why the pensioner was killed - nothing was taken and there wasn't any sign of forced entry at his home. He was left tied up having been beaten and had a pillow held over his face.
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The cold case unit regularly revisit the file in a bid to get him justice, while his family are still fighting strong in their quest for answers.
In 2021, his family appealed to the man who called gardai in the weeks after his brutal killing to come forward. Gardaí previously said the anonymous caller who rang with details of the attack may have been in his 20s or 30s at the time and they believe he could hold the key to the case 15 years on.
Gussie's nephew John said he believes it may have been a robbery gone wrong and that the killer or killers were not expecting his uncle to be at home at the time.
Gussie lived alone, and his family say he spoke to a number of people he knew in the 24 hours leading up to his death.
He was last spotted alive on November 5 - there were sightings of him by his house while he was also picked up on CCTV in Singleton's Centra.
It was the next day, November 6 at 12.30pm, that his brother Robert found him dead. His hands and legs had been tied.
He wasn't showing any obvious signs of injury but it was later established that he had been choked and either suffocated to death or had a heart attack in the process.
A later inquest confirmed he had been attacked and a pillow was put over his mouth.
A tie was found at the scene and it's not believed it belonged to Gussie, this item became one of the few vital clues for gardai after they established that not many of them were sold in Cork.
They later released a picture of the blue Profumo tie in the hope that someone recognised it.
Gussie's nephew John said his uncle did not wear a tie and it’s suspected the person or people behind the savage killing may have left it there.
The designer brand accessory was blue and navy and its origins remain a mystery.
John added: “At the time we thought only his arms were bound together but his legs were as well. He was found with this tie
which was very expensive, it cost around €80 at the time.
“Gussie never wore a tie, nobody can apparently ever remember him wearing one.”
But he said whoever carried out the horrendous killing left DNA at the scene which he hopes will one day nail the killer.
Gardai believe there are a number of people out there who know what happened to Gussie.
There's one man in particular who called to Gurranabraher Station on November 7 and spoke with Detective Derek Mulcahy for over five minutes.
That man promised to get in touch later but never did.
Since then many appeals have gone out, reconstructions have been done, and the case has featured on RTE's Crimecall.
Gussie's nephew John told the Irish Sunday Mirror last year: “All we know is somebody rang in, and this is before it was on the news or anything, and he was able to tell them about it.
“He was supposed to get back to them but never rang back.
“Apparently, and I’m only going on what I was told, he knew about it. We heard he knew too many details. Was he in shock when he phoned, I don’t know.
“We are appealing to this man to make contact again and let us know what happened.
“Someone out there must know something. We just want justice for what happened.
“Anybody who has information, please come forward.”
John added: “They [gardai] said they had someone at one stage but the DNA did not match.
“There is DNA there that they have but they haven’t found the person it matches yet.
“The gardai need to find who it is who left the DNA at the scene."
To date, no arrests have been made in the investigation.
Gardai are appealing for anyone with information to call 021 494 6200 or the Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.
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