Husband charged with Cawley killing

THE HUSBAND of Celine Cawley, who was found dead at her Dublin home last week, is to appear in court this morning charged with her murder.

Eamon Lillis (50) was arrested in Howth at about 7.30am on Saturday morning. He was not in his own home at the time of his arrest.

Mr Lillis was taken to Clontarf Garda station where he was detained under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 and was charged with murder in the early hours of yesterday morning. He remained in Garda custody last night and is to appear before Dublin District Court at 10.30am today.

Ms Cawley (46) died as a result of head injuries she received during an attack at her Howth home last Monday. When gardaí arrived at the house on Windgate Road just after 10am, they found her unconscious in her night attire on the patio at the rear of the property.

She was taken by ambulance to Beaumont Hospital where she was pronounced dead a short time later.

A postmortem on Ms Cawley's body concluded that she had died of head injuries consistent with being hit a number of times with a heavy object.

Gardaí carried out an extensive search at Howth Hill and the surrounding areas near the family home last week.

Ms Cawley shared the house with Mr Lillis, a television producer, and their 16-year-old daughter.

Local gardaí and officers from the Garda Technical Bureau and the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the force's serious crimes squad, took part in the investigation.

Detectives said they were confident that forensic tests at the scene and on a bloodstained brick found near the body, which they believe was the murder weapon, would identify the killer.

Clothing belonging to Ms Cawley and Mr Lillis were taken from the house as part of the investigation.

Ms Cawley was the founder and managing director of Toytown Films, a successful independent television company producing adverts for major global brands since 1990.