Double murder inquiry started in Kerry

BARRY ROCHE, Southern Correspondent

Gardaí have today begun a double murder inquiry after postmortems confirmed that a mother and her daughter died violent deaths after being attacked in their rented home in Killorglin , Co Kerry.

The bodies of Lithuanian national Jolanta Lubiene (27) and her daughter Enrika (8) were found by gardaí at about 8.30pm on Sunday night when they called to the two-storey semi-detached house at Langford Downs, about a kilometre from the centre of Killorglin.

For operational reasons, gardaí have not commented on the results of the postmortems on the mother and daughter conducted by assistant State pathologist, Dr Margot Bolster. It is understood, however, that both victims suffered serious stab wounds.

The body of Ms Lubiene, dressed in her day-time clothes, was found in the kitchen while the body of her daughter was lying face down in an upstairs bedroom. Enrika’s dog was also in the room.

Garda sources confirmed that there was no sign of forced entry into the house suggesting the possibility that Ms Lubiene may have known and trusted her killer and may have admitted the person to the house in the belief that neither her nor her daughter were at risk. There was no evidence of anything having been stolen.

Gardaí are trying to establish when Ms Lubiene and Enrika were last seen alive. The last confirmed sighting of Ms Lubiene was at about 4pm on Friday when she was seen in Killorglin heading for home.

The alarm was raised on Sunday evening when a Lithuanian friend of Ms Lubiene called to the house and was unable to contact her. She notified gardaí who went to the house and immediately cordoned off the scene after finding the bodies.