THE ENGLISHWOMAN who died in a Kilkenny hospital on Saturday morning is believed to have been the victim of a serious sexual assault, it emerged yesterday.
Lorraine White (42), a mother and grandmother, died after undergoing emergency surgery at St Luke's Hospital.
It is understood she suffered "massive internal injuries" after being attacked. It is believed she had been stabbed repeatedly.
She was admitted to St Luke's at around 6.30am on Saturday. It is unclear how she was transported to the hospital where she died six hours later.
Gardaí, who are investigating the circumstances leading to her death, have not released the results of a postmortem examination for "operational reasons".
Last night they were still questioning a man who was arrested in Cahir, Co Tipperary, on Sunday evening. He was being held at Kilkenny Garda station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.
Ms White, who is from Wigan in northwest England, had been living in the village of Callan, about 10 miles from Kilkenny city, for a number of years.
Her niece, Kerry Harris, told The Irish Times last night that Ms White had moved to Ireland with an Irishman whom she had met in the UK.
Ms White, a mother of five, had also been accompanied to Ireland by a grown-up daughter, Elizabeth (25), and two grandchildren.
She had moved into a terraced house on Bridge Street in the centre of the village.
Yesterday afternoon, gardaí maintained a presence outside the building.
Shocked local residents said that Ms White was not well known but appeared to be a quiet, reserved and gentle woman.
Ms Harris said she had last seen her aunt when she visited Wigan in January.
She added her family in England were "very distressed" by the news of Ms White's death and they hoped to bring her body home to England as soon as possible.
She said Ms White was survived by her five children, four of whom lived in England, her estranged husband Kevin, her father, and her extended family.
Ms Harris said the British embassy in Ireland was providing consular assistance to her 17-year-old sister, who had been holidaying with Ms White and was "heartbroken" and extremely anxious to get home.