Gardaí appealing to the public for information in an attempt to identifty a woman found stabbed to death in the Phoenix Park on Wednesday have issued a photograph of the victim.
She is described as being aged between 30 and 40 years, 147cm (4ft 10in) in height and of medium build. She had brown hair, which was “almost shoulder-length”.
She was wearing a grey or green fleece top and a red and blue striped rugby top. She also wore three-quarter length loose-fitting pink leggings.
Thick woolly socks and shoes, believed to belong to the woman, were found close to her body. A black bicycle was discovered nearby.
The victim's toenails were painted gold. She wore a gold chain necklace with a St Anthony's medal affixed with a piece of string. She was also wearing a chain necklace with a silver cross and gold hoop type earrings described as "creole-type".
A white scarf and black zip-up top were also found near the body.
A postmortem revealed she had been stabbed in the chest at least eight times. Garda searches of the area have failed to uncover the murder weapon.
The victim, who gardaí believe may be a foreign national, had been dead for at least 24 hours before her remains were found. Garda sources said she was most likely killed on Tuesday night.
Gardaí believe the woman was murdered on the spot where her body was found. She was stabbed through her clothing and, while a blanket was found beside the body, no attempt was made to conceal the remains. There was no evidence the victim had been sexually assaulted and her remains were fully clothed.
The body was found by two women out walking at 3.30pm on Wednesday in a wooded area off Military Road near the park's Chapelizod gate and the playing fields known as the "15 acres".
Gardaí had reports of a number of men in the area on Tuesday night.
Sources said the woman was in good physical condition and gardaí now believe it is less likely she was homeless. "Judging by her general condition, she had certainly not been homeless for a long period, if at all," said one source.
Other sources said nobody had reported anybody missing who matches the victim's description. This has led gardaí to believe she could be a foreign woman who may not have been missed yet because she may not have family or a large circle of friends in Ireland.