Investigation launched into alleged assault by prison officers on murder suspect

David Raleigh

A major investigation is underway into the alleged assault on a prisoner by prison officers at Portlaoise Prison.

The prisoner, Hasan Ali Gori, who is a self-confessed suspect in the murder of his partner’s mother, was transferred to Portlaoise from Limerick Prison last Friday, September 12th.

Mr Gori, (50s) sustained serious injuries, including a collapsed lung and is being treated in hospital following an alleged assault.

Prison sources confirmed the investigation is to be referred to An Garda Siochana.

An official statement is expected from the Irish Prison Service who were contacted for comment.

The Garda Press Office said it was not aware of the alleged incident.

Gori allegedly sustained the injuries after he was transferred to Portlaoise Prison from Limerick Prison where he allegedly assaulted three prisoners on September 10th.

A separate investigation is being conducted by the IPS into the alleged attack on the three prison officers, in which Gori is alleged to have bitten the hands of two officers and punched a third. One of the three injured officers required hospital treatment.

Gori was previously arrested twice by Gardaí on suspicion of involent in the murder of his partner Mary Ray’s elderly mother, 89-year old Josephine “Josie” Ray at her home at St Jospeh’s Park, Nenagh, Co Tipperary, August 4th 2024.

Mr Gori and Mary Ray were both questioned by detectives investigating the murder, which shocked the north Tipperary town.

The pair left Nenagh after the killing and were living in a tent in a rat-infested wetlands situated off the Condell Road, Limerick.

When this reporter met the pair at their makeshift homeless campsite, last April, Mr Gori and Ms Ray said they had no involvement in Ms Ray’s mother’s death.

“I have nothing to do with this death, how is somebody accusing me of murder. I didn’t do anything to anybody,” Mr Gori said.

Mary Ray was also adamant she was not involved in her mother’s murder: “No I hadn’t, no I hadn’t, no, no, I had not, no, no.”

With rats scurrying around her, Mary Ray said: “My mother loved me, she was mad about me, we lived together. It’s very hard for me, I miss her terrible, so much.”

The couple, who were both living with Josephine Ray, were initially both arrested on the day of her funeral.

Mary Ray said she found her mother’s lifeless body in bed but she said she initially thought her mother was asleep.

“I got an awful fright. Her glasses were off in the bed…I said, ‘Mother, get up for your tea.’ But she wasn’t moving. I said, there’s something wrong with her, she must be dead,” Ms Ray said.

Josephine Ray was remembered at her funeral by her granddaughter Rosie as a “true lady” who loved style, laughter, and dancing.

Mary Ray and Mr Gori said they had been run out of Nenagh after they were arrested by gardaí.

Mary Ray claimed they had also been subjected to intimidation at their homeless campsite in Limerick: “We got attacked about my mother. They said, ‘you murdered your mother.’”

Mary Ray said she was in bed when her mother must have died: “I was in bed and I don’t know who done it, that’s what I can’t make out.”

“It’s terrible, like. I gave her tea and biscuits that night. I was shocked, I still can’t believe it.”

When asked how he felt about Jospehine Ray’s death Mr Gori replied: “Well, there’s nobody feels happy or joy, no, it’s only to be sorry for the people that person died for.”

He said he was also mourning the death of his own mother, who he said died after suffering from shock of being told he had been arrested on suspicion of murdering Ms Ray.

Mary Ray and Mr Gori said that, prior to Josie Ray’s death, Mr Gori had contacted an ambulance for the late great grandmother following an incident at her home.

The couple claimed that, on another occasion, they helped Josie up off the floor in her house after they heard a noise and found she had fallen from a chair and “broken her hip”.

Garda interactions with Josie at her home in the days before her death have been referred to the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) including a Garda response at her house following a report of a disturbance less than 24-hours prior to her murder.

Josephine Ray was reportedly alive when gardaí called to her home on August 3rd during which a number of persons were present at her home.

It’s reported that gardaí had also been called to her home on several occasions during the months prior to her death in response to a number of different ¬alleged complaints.

‘The rats are everywhere’

Mary Ray and Mr Gori’s living conditions in the rat-infested scrub were dire.

Surrounded by rodent burrows and rubbish, the couple boiled soup, cooked potatoes and rice on a campfire, and said that they relied on food presents from visitors.

“The rats are everywhere,” said Ms Ray, who explained she was in receipt of a disability allowance “because I’m a slow learner”.

Despite their grim surroundings, Mr Gori, said: “I’m not afraid of the rats, they only look for food.”

Pointing to a nearby tunnel, Mr Gori shouted: “See here, it’s a big rat house, this is a new one, they start fighting for food or whatever, see, all around, it’s all rat houses here.”

Pulling back their tent flap to reveal a metal bar, he explained: “It’s for protection because I don’t know the kind of people that come here.”

“I have to enjoy life, who am I going to cry to,” he added.

‘It’s not safe to go back’

Rolling up their sleeves, the couple showed itching red lumps on their arms, thought to have been insect bites.

Mr Gori said he had advised Ms Ray a number of times to go back to Nenagh but, he argued, “Mary will follow me anywhere I go, Mary will not leave me.”

At the point Ms Ray interjected: “I can’t (return) though, I can’t stay at my house, it’s not safe to go back.”

Surveying her bleak living quarters, Ms Ray concluded: “Oh Jesus, the dirt of it, it’s hard…people will think we’re mad, living here.”

Gardaí were waiting to send a file on the murder to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions who will ultimately decide if charges are to be brought against anyone.