Robbery death 'was murder'

Ted O'Hare died during a robbery at his home

The death of a pensioner during a robbery at his home in County Down is now being treated as murder, the police have said.

Ted O'Hare, 73, was found dead by his three elderly brothers at their farmhouse on the Tullymore Road, in Loughbrickland last Saturday.

The three were confronted by a gang of five masked men after they arrived home from Mass at about 2000 GMT.

Following a struggle, the gang fled from the house and the pensioners found their brother's body.

Heart condition

On Thursday, police confirmed that they were treating the investigation into the death as a murder inquiry.

They have received the preliminary results from a post-mortem examination, but it has not been made public how Mr O'Hare died.

Police will be distributing leaflets throughout the area this weekend to try to jog people's memories about the incident.

The pensioner had suffered from a heart condition and was only discharged from hospital following treatment several days before his death.

Two of his brothers were treated in hospital following the robbery, but were later released while the third man was treated by a doctor at the scene.