Neighbour who found naked body 'thought it was a mannequin'

Man discovered headless corpse

- OLIVIA KELLEHER

THE man who found the headless and armless body of Frankie Dunne while searching for his cat initially thought it was a discarded mannequin, a murder trial has heard.

Joseph Pierce told the Central Criminal Court he initially saw a pair of feet but decided to call gardai when he spotted male genitalia.

Mr Pierce was giving evidence at the trial of Romanian chef Ionut Cosmin Nicholescu, 30, for the murder of 64-year-old father-of-three Francis "Frankie" Dunne.

Mr Dunne was found dead in the back garden of Castlegreine House on Boreenmanna Road in Cork on December 28, 2019.

Nicholescu, of Branistea in Romania, denies any involvement in the murder.

Mr Pierce told the second day of the trial that he received a call at work from his partner on the afternoon of December 28, 2019.

She told him that their cat Mouse was missing.