An investigation is underway after two men in Ireland allegedly carried a dead man into a post office in hopes of collecting his pension, police said.
Staff at a post office in Co. Carlow on Jan. 21 refused to hand over the pension of 66-year-old Peader Doyle to another man, saying that Doyle himself would need to be present to collect the money, The Guardian reported.
That man left the post office and returned with another, who allegedly helped him carry in Doyle, who they propped up as they tried again to collect the funds, according to published reports.
When a post office worker asked about the well-being of the man being held up, the two others allegedly dropped his body and left.
The two men denied that Doyle was dead before they entered the post office. “He was alive,” one of the men toldthe Sunday World newspaper.
Police said they believe that Doyle died in his home the same day of the incident. A post-mortem examination ruled out any foul play.
A death notice published online said the Doyle died “suddenly.” His funeral took place two days later.
Authorities were studying “what condition” Doyle was in on his way from his house to the post office, according to the outlet.
“The focus of Garda [police] enquiries is now on the ancillary events that took place at the business premises connected to the recent death of the male,” police said in a statement.
According to The Irish Times, Doyle lived only yards from the post office.
One man was charged with two counts of deception.
“I heard there was a commotion in the post office,” Carlow Mayor Ken Murnane told a local newspaper. “I go by there all the time and it’s a very busy post office—normally there’d be a queue out the door there. I was absolutely shocked to hear about what happened. I cannot believe anyone would do something like that. It beggars belief, I’m just shocked.”