Residents say they had no suspicion of `anything unusual' in quiet locality

MRS DIVER'S body was found at the entrance to Buckley's builders' providers on Robinhood Road

MRS DIVER'S body was found at the entrance to Buckley's builders' providers on Robinhood Road. It is close to the Robinhood Industrial Estate in west Co Dublin.

The road branches off the Long Mile Road. Most premises in the area are warehouses and depots, with a few private houses.

The murder victim's car, a Renault Clio 96D, was parked slightly to the left of the entrance and was close to the extremely narrow road.

Early this morning a Garda forensic team arrived in a van to examine the sealed-off area, the foreground in front of the gate. Buckley's was not opened to the public until around midday yesterday, and workers and delivery men had difficulty entering the premises.

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The builders' provider closes at 5.30 p.m., and staff said there would be no one around after that time. The only people who patrol the road after this are staff employed by a security firm.

Across the way from the entrance, residents in a small number of cottages said they heard no commotion late last night. Some saw the car but did not notice anything suspicious. All expressed concern and surprise that such an incident could take place in the area.

Mrs Margaret Johnson, whose house is directly across from where the body was found, said she had seen the car parked at the entrance for some time but had not noticed anything unusual.

"I did not hear a sound. The first inkling I had that anything unusual had happened was when I saw the flashing lights of the Garda cars and the ambulance."

Some residents commented that the area outside the entrance was always brightly lit and many of their visitors often parked their cars there at night because the road was so narrow.

The only cars usually around at night were those of learner drivers, Ms Johnson said, and that was mostly during the summer. She said it was "a very strange incident".

There is one security camera at the front of the Buckley building, and gardai have taken away video surveillance tape for examination.

The victim's car was taken away at about 2 a.m. and forensic teams arrived at the scene early in the morning.