Teenager to be charged with murder of woman in Celbridge

A 16-year-old boy will appear in court this morning charged with the murder of a 19-year-old woman late on Tuesday night. The charges were put to the boy at Naas Garda station last night.

He was detained at the station overnight and will be formally charged before Kildare District Court at 11am today.

Gardaí were alerted to the murder just before 11pm on Tuesday when the young woman was found with severe injuries in her home in Celbridge, Co Kildare. She had been beaten.

The house where she was killed is situated in Grattan Court, a middle-class estate about a mile from Celbridge village opposite the Setanta House Hotel.

The victim, Rebecca Kinsella, was at the house on Tuesday night with the boy now facing the murder charge, while her father was playing badminton at a sports centre and her mother was sitting an exam.

When Ms Kinsella came home just before 11pm she found her daughter in a downstairs room. The emergency services and gardaí were alerted immediately. A local doctor pronounced the teenager dead at the scene.

Gardaí firmly believe she died a violent death as she had lost a lot of blood. The 16-year-old detained last night was at the house in Grattan Court late on Tuesday when gardaí arrived at the scene.

However, he was found to have taken prescription medicines and was taken to Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown, where he was treated and kept in for observation overnight.

He was released from hospital early yesterday morning and was arrested by detectives just after 7am.

The boy, who is from Celbridge, was taken to Naas Garda station. He was questioned about Ms Kinsella's death throughout yesterday. He was held for an initial six-hour period before his detention was extended for a further six hours. At the expiry of this period just after 7pm the charges were put to him.

The scene of the killing was sealed-off from Tuesday night. Ms Kinsella's body was left at the scene until lunchtime yesterday when State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy carried out a preliminary examination.

Ms Kinsella's remains were then removed and a postmortem performed. Members of the Garda technical bureau carried out an examination of the scene yesterday and a number of items were taken from the house. Detectives also conducted house-to-house inquiries in the Grattan Court estate.

Ms Kinsella's parents stayed with a neighbour on Tuesday night and remained there while their own home was a crime scene yesterday. A constant stream of family and friends and a local priest called to the house to extend their sympathies to the family.

Gardaí last night said they believed the 16-year-old being held was not known to have a history of mental illness.

Gardaí are not looking for anybody else in connection with the killing.

Garda sources were unable to say what the motive for the attack was but they said the victim was known to the boy. They believe they have recovered the weapon used.