Gardai investigating the deaths of an English couple in Tipperary last month have established that the pair were last seen alive a week before Christmas 2020.
Nicholas and Hilary Smith were found dead at their home in Clonee near Fethard after neighbours grew concerned that their car had not been moved for some time.
The couple was last seen on December 17, 2020, as they collected a prescription from a pharmacy in Callan, Co Kilkenny, less than 20km from their bungalow.
READ MORE: What happened to the Tipperary couple found dead? Latest details as gardai comb house for evidence
Gardai confirmed the last sighting after three weeks of inquiries by a team of officers at Clonmel station who have been examining large amounts of documents removed from the pair's home.
It is understood that technical examinations of a mobile phone and a laptop found in the house have so far not revealed any call, text or email activity that would suggest that either of the couple were alive later than December 17, 2020.
Mr Smith, a retired sea captain who worked on cruise ships in Australia, would have been 81 at that stage, while Mrs Smith, who also worked on cruise ships, would have been 78.
Gardai were alerted to the home after a neighbour who had thought the couple had sold the house and moved away noticed their car parked around the back.
Gardaí called to the house to carry out a welfare check and discovered Mr Smith's body in a bedroom and Mrs Smith's in the sitting room. It was clear that both had been deceased for several months.
Both bodies were removed to University Hospital Waterford, where Chief State Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan carried out postmortems.
Gardaí are understood to have found nothing to suggest that foul play was involved in the deaths. Neither body showed signs of physical violence or trauma, and there were no indications of forced entry to the house.
Sources confirmed to the Irish Times that the investigation team planned to contact an Irish probate genealogy firm after The Sunday Independent reported that they had traced relatives of the couple.
Erin Research founder Padraic Grennan confirmed on Monday that his investigators had found Mrs Smith had a 61-year-old son from a previous relationship and that Mr Smith had a brother living in London.
Mr Grennan said Mr Smith's brother told his team that he had not been in contact with his brother for more than 25 years as he had been working at sea.
He also confirmed that Mrs Smith's son revealed he had not seen his mother for more than 55 years as she had been away at sea. He said his maternal grandmother had raised him.
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