Gardai treating woman's death as suspicious

The death of a woman found in a partially burned car in Dublin's inner city is being treated as suspicious. The woman's body was found in the driving seat of a silver Nissan saloon on Hendrick Street, off Blackhall Place, Dublin, early yesterday morning.

The fire brigade discovered the body when they were called out to deal with the burnt-out car at 4.30am.

The 35-year-old, originally from Nigeria, was named locally as Sukuval Abiola Williams. It is understood she lived on Hendrick Street, in the Gravel Walk Court apartments, with her eight-year-old son, who is now being cared for by relatives.

She had been living in Dublin for eight years and worked in an afro-Caribbean store on Bolton Street.

The scene was cordoned off and the Garda Technical Bureau carried out an examination.

Assistant State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis arrived shortly before 11am and also carried out a preliminary examination before the body was removed to the city morgue for postmortem.

The car was taken away by pick-up truck to be forensically examined by the Garda technical team.

Members of Ms Williams' family arrived at the scene shortly before lunchtime yesterday but were not allowed to see the body.

Gardaí were continuing with house-to-house inquiries last night.

Supt Michael Feehan said that a full investigation into the death had begun at the Bridewell Garda station and he appealed to anyone with information to come forward. "I want to appeal to anyone who is living up around Hendrick Street or who may have been passing through, taxi people or others going about their business at around half-past-four this morning, to give us any assistance they can," he said.

The results of the postmortem were not released last night and gardaí could not confirm whether the woman died before or after the car was set alight. They did not confirm reports that two youths were seen running away from the car or that Ms Williams' apartment was broken into prior to her death.

Local residents were shocked at the news. One man, who worked in a nearby hairdressers, said that he knew Ms Williams. "She was a good customer, I didn't know she was the one; I'm very shocked," he said.

Another local, who lives behind the apartments, said that the sound of the tyres blowing out on the car as it burned woke her up. "We heard a bang and we could smell the smoke," she said. "We thought it was just another burnt-out car."

A woman, who has lived near the scene since 1939, also expressed her shock at the death. "I'm living here all my life and I never heard anything like it, everyone was poorer but we looked out for each other; I don't know anyone in those apartments now," she said.

Up to 40 members of the Nigerian community gathered outside the Bridewell Garda station yesterday evening.

They expressed their anger at the death and demonstrated their solidarity with the woman's family.