Gardaí suspect chainsaw was used to dismember Mike Gaine's body after murder
Power tools kept in farmyard in Kenmare, Co Kerry, being examined by investigators
Partial human remains, believed to be those of the missing farmer, were found on Friday in a field where slurry was spread on Mr Gaine's farm.
The farmer owned at least three chainsaws that were kept on the property.
It is understood power tools located on the farm are being examined by gardaí.
The focus of the forensic investigation is now on how the body may have been dismembered, comparing saw or other blade cuts and examining an agitator in the slurry pit. Read more
The results will hopefully provide the cause of death and how long the dismembered remains were in the slurry tank before being discovered.
It is hoped the results will also provide a precise timeline.
Such was the dismemberment of the remains and the advanced stage of decomposition, it is understood it will be several days before final reports are available to gardaí from state pathologist Dr SallyAnne Collis and forensic anthropologist Dr Laureen Buckley.
Mike Gaine
One source said the work of the medical and forensic experts will be 'very challenging'.
Gardaí will also consult with microbiology and chemical experts.
It comes after a man in his 50s who was arrested on suspicion of the farmer's murder was released without charge on Monday night.
The man, who was arrested on Sunday, was questioned for the maximum period of 24 hours. He was detained at Killarney garda station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.
His legal representative, solicitor Patrick Mann, declined to comment on his client's detention, questioning or release when contacted by the Irish Independent .
Mr Gaine, a 56-year-old sheep farmer with land near Kenmare, Co Kerry, was reported missing from his home more than eight weeks ago.
His farm at Carraig East was declared a crime scene at the weekend after human remains were discovered.
A local contractor was spreading the slurry drawn from a tank in the farmyard on Friday evening when the spraying pipe became blocked. When they went to clear it, they discovered human remains and notified gardaí.
Gardaí have insisted that both slurry tanks on the farm were thoroughly searched for several days and they were one of the first areas searched.
The majority of material was drained from both tanks at the time and nothing of evidential value was found.
All underground tanks on the farm are now being fully drained and examined with the assistance of members from the Garda Water Unit.
Officers searching Mike Gaine's farm
There has also been a lot of focus on the tanker used to spread the slurry last Friday.
Yesterday, during the fourth day of a garda technical examination of Mr Gaine's farm, officers were assisted by the Defence Forces and the Kerry Fire and Rescue Service.
A number of excavators and diggers were at the scene. The search of the farm is expected to continue for several days.
Mr Gaine's remains were removed in a hearse on Sunday evening for tests.
A post-mortem examination was due to take place at University Hospital Kerry in Tralee, though it was not immediately clear if a cause of death would be established because of the condition of the remains.
Mr Gaine was last seen on Thursday, March 20, in Kenmare.
On April, almost six weeks after Mr Gaine disappeared, the missing-person case was upgraded to a homicide investigation.
Mr Gaine's wife Janice and his sister Noreen O'Regan issued a plea at that time, with Ms Gaine appealing for anyone with information to come forward in a video released by gardaí.
In the video, Ms Gaine said Mr Gaine was her 'best friend, my husband' and 'this whole thing has been devastating'.
'His disappearance is totally out of character and we knew that from day one,' she said. 'We just want Michael to come home, we want [to] know what happened to him,' she said.
Mr Gaine's sister described him as a 'loving husband, brother, uncle'.
'We're devastated. Our lives are shattered,' she said.
'We want answers. We love Michael, we want him back.'
Over the past eight weeks, several appeals have been issued and extensive searches carried out.
Around 2,200 hours of CCTV and dashcam footage have been examined and 130 witness statements were taken by the end of last month.
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