Man and woman held over Wexford woman's death

Two people have been arrested in connection with the death of Co Wexford woman Evelyn Joel.

The man and woman were detained in Enniscorthy this morning at 10am, a Garda spokesman said. They were taken to Enniscorthy Garda station, where they can be held for an initial period of six hours.

The late Evelyn Joel

This can then be extended by a further six-hour period.

Mrs Joel (58), from Enniscorthy, died six days after she was admitted to Wexford General Hospital on January 1st. She had been suffering from multiple sclerosis and arthritis and was severely malnourished.

Her daughter Eleanor said her mother had refused to eat after her partner died in mid-December. She called the doctor on New Year's Day, and an ambulance brought her mother to hospital.

Mrs Joel had been bedridden and spent her final months with her daughter, her daughter's partner and the couple's two children. She is understood to have been found in her own excrement, with maggots on her body. She died in hospital last Saturday, January 7th.

A friend said her weight had dropped to under four stone, and gardaí are examining the possibility that she was a victim of neglect.

Earlier this month, Minister for Health Mary Harney said Mrs Joel's death six days after being admitted to Wexford General Hospital in a severely malnourished state was obviously due to "appalling neglect" and there had been "huge failings".

"Clearly I don't want to prejudice the outcome of the different inquiries, both the Garda inquiry and the HSE inquiry, but it is tragic to think that in 2005 somebody could die in these circumstances. It's obviously appalling neglect. I don't know who is responsible for it. We have to await the outcome of those inquiries. I hope we can have the outcome very quickly," she said.

A Health Service Executive inquiry into service provision for Mrs Joel is to cover the period January 2004 to January 2006.