Gardaí today confirmed they have begun a murder inquiry after the body of Waterford woman Margaret Walsh was recovered from the River Suir yesterday afternoon.
The remains of the mother-of-one were recovered from the River Suir at around 3pm yesterday. She had been missing for two weeks.
A postmortem was carried out on the body at Waterford Regional Hospital by State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy.
Preliminary results show Ms Walsh (35) suffered severe trauma injuries to her upper body. It is understood she may have been in the water for some time before her naked body was recovered.
Gardaí will stage a reconstruction of Ms Walsh's last known movements this evening and detectives have appealed to the public for anyone with information to contact them.
At a press conference in Waterford earlier today, Superintendent Dave Sheahan called for information the circumstances surrounding Ms Walsh's disappearance and murder.
"There is a person, or persons, out there in the Waterford city area who is fully aware of the fate and as to what happened to Margaret 'Meg' Walsh," he said. "I am again appealing to that person or persons to come forward to the gardaí."
He also said searches were continuing for Ms Walsh's car keys, mobile phone and a remote control from her car.
Ms Walsh, known as Meg, was last seen in the early hours of October 1st after a night out with friends and is believed to have disappeared while making her way to her home on Ballinakill Downs.
Colleagues reported her missing when she failed to turn up for work the following Monday morning. Her car was discovered two days later less than two miles from her home at Beach House, Ardkeen.
A blood-stained mat from the vehicle was later found dumped nearby. The vehicle, a silver Mitsubishi Carisma Saloon, has been sent to Dublin for forensic analysis.
It is understood that Ms Walsh had previously told friends she felt in danger and had made an assault complaint to gardaí. The dead woman's daughter Sasha Keating (17) and brother James Walsh made a plea for information on her whereabouts earlier this week. They described the last two weeks as a "horror show".
Hundreds of local people joined the search for the Cork native, and her employer, Noel Power of construction firm Meadowcourt Homes, put two boats on the Suir to help the search. It was one of these teams that found the body.
Additional reporting PA