Gardaí have appealed for witnesses after a man was arrested in connection with the discovery of the partially-clothed body of a girl (12) by a canal in west Dublin.
The body of Michaela Davis was discovered by a man walking his dog at about 4pm yesterday lying in thick undergrowth on a steep bank alongside the Royal Canal near the level crossing at Porterstown Gate.
A postmortem was carried out by State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy at Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown this morning. While the results have yet to be released, it is believed the girl had been strangled.
A man (19) was arrested yesterday evening after he presented himself voluntarily at Blanchardstown Garda station with his father.
Gardaí said today the man is being questioned under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 on suspicion of carrying out a serious assault.
The girl was reported as missing from her home at the Village housing estate in Porterstown in the early hours of Saturday morning. She had been out with friends and returned home at midnight but told her parents she was going out again for a few minutes.
When she failed to return home two hours later, her parents contacted gardaí in Blanchardstown to report her missing.
The scene was closed for a forensic examination by the Garda Technical Team yesterday and Dr Cassidy arrived at about 6pm last night to carry out a preliminary examination. The body remained at the scene for a number of hours before being removed late last night.
Some 80 gardaí from the Garda Technical Bureau, the National Bureau of Crime Investigation are scouring the scene this morning. The Garda Sub Aqua team are searching the canal near where the body was found and the Garda helicopter has also been offering air support.
Michaela's bicycle has been recovered by investigating officers, who have sealed off a large area spanning from her family home to the crime scene.
At a press briefing in Blanchardstown Garda station this afternoon, Supt John Gilligan appealed to local residents for help. “We have a person in custody but we have not pieced together fully what took place and why this happened so in that sense we are looking for people to come forward,” he said.
“What we want is that anybody with any information, background information, information about what took place Friday night, Saturday, any time in the area of Porterstown bridge, the canal. People were perhaps out walking late, driving late, people driving by," he said. “Small pieces of information sometimes can assist us with a larger investigation,” he added.
Supt Gilligan said it was a very difficult time for the victim’s family, friends and the local community. However, he tried to reassure concerned residents that it was an isolated incident. “There will be a sense of fear, a sense of tension. But from the point of view of the gardaí, the community can be assured that everything is being done.”
Gardaí are investigating reports Michaela had been associating with an older age group in recent months. The Their inquiry will centre on whether the young girl was vulnerable or exploited by others and will examine her family background.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Blanchardstown Garda station at 666 7000 or on the Garda Confidential Line at 1 800 666 111.