Former jockey Paddy Donaghy has d!ed aged 39 after an alleged attack by his older brother just days earlier.
Donaghy, who di£d in hospital on Sunday, September 13, took part in British Flat racing from 2005 to 2014, securing more than 60 victories during a career which saw him regularly ride for northern England trainers Pat Haslam and Jedd O’Keeffe.
He passed away in hospital following an incident at a property in the Stratheden Heights area of the County Down town of Newtownards on Monday, September 7.
His brother, Joseph Donaghy, 46, appeared before Newtownards Magistrates’ Court last week charged with causing grievous bodily harm in relation to the incident.
Magistrates heard there was “a physical altercation” between the brothers after returning from a funeral that day, according to the Court News NI.
The victim’s legal team described the proceedings as a “one-punch case”.
The defence lawyer said: “I have been asked by the defendant to say he is absolutely grief-stricken by what has unravelled.”
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) have declined to provide additional details concerning the nature of the incident or how the former jockey was hospitalised.
The probe into his d£ath, which happened six days after the incident at the residence, was confirmed by the PSNI on Monday, September 14.
A statement from the PSNI said: “Detectives are investigating the circumstances surrounding the d£ath of a man aged in his thirties.
“The man di£d in hospital on Sunday, following an incident at a house in Stratheden Heights, Newtownards, on September 7. There are no further details at this time.”