GARDAÍ HAVE begun a murder investigation following the death of a woman who had been critically ill since she was attacked at her home last Friday.
The 48-year-old mother of five, who is not being named until all relatives have been informed, was found unconscious in sheltered accommodation on James’s Street in Dublin’s south inner city at 9.40pm.
She had suffered serious head injuries in a beating and gardaí also suspect she was thrown down some stairs.
The victim was taken by ambulance to St James’s Hospital.
She remained critically ill on a life-support machine and died from her injuries in hospital yesterday evening.
Gardaí at Kilmainham Garda station immediately upgraded their investigation to a murder inquiry.
A man who was arrested at the house on James’s St on Friday night when the victim was found unconscious was still in Garda custody last night.
He was well known to the dead woman and is the chief suspect for her murder.
The suspect was being questioned at Kevin Street Garda station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. However, his questioning was suspended when he was admitted to hospital for medical treatment.
A Garda spokesman last night said the man remained in Garda custody despite being taken to hospital. The spokesman said the suspect’s questioning will begin again when hospital staff decide he is well enough to be discharged. The suspect is believed to have been drinking on Friday and had not long returned to the house on James’s Street when the victim was attacked.
The dead woman is believed to have had a number of addresses around the south inner city in recent years including at Dolphin’s Barn and James’s Street.
The State Pathologist’s office was last night informed of the victim’s death. Results of the postmortem on her remains are expected to be known later today.
The scene of the killing was sealed off immediately the woman was taken from the house by ambulance. The house underwent a full forensic examination over the weekend.