An unidentified young woman found dead on a Longford street yesterday morning may have fallen to her death during a botched raid.
Gardaí are exploring the theory that the woman was killed while trying to break into the premises of an electrical contractor in a quiet laneway just a few hundred yards from the bustling town centre.
State Pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy yesterday travelled to Longford to examine the scene and she later carried out a postmortem in the Midlands Regional Hospital, Mullingar.
The woman - who was in her late teens or early 20s - was found with severe head and face injuries by a local man out walking his dog at 8.30am yesterday. There was no ID on her person when she was discovered.
This sparked a major Garda operation. It is understood there was evidence of a break-in at a local business, S&D Electrical. The woman was found dead on the ground underneath a broken window in this premises.
Gardaí would not comment publicly on the possibility of a botched raid, but sources confirmed they are pursuing this line as part of their investigation.
The scene was sealed off and forensic experts from the Garda Technical Bureau spent all day at the location.
They studied CCTV footage from various cameras in the Killashee Street and St Bridget's Terrace areas, and they also entered the premises of S&D Electrical to gather evidence.
"The woman is of small build about 5ft 1in to 5ft 5in with short brown hair, she is believed to be in her late teens or early 20s. She was wearing a navy "LA Gear" tracksuit top and bottom," said the Garda Press Office.
"The jacket was of the zip type and had pink piping, a pink waist band and badge on the left side with the number 75. She also wore a cream v-neck long-sleeved jumper. Anyone with information as to the identity of this young woman is asked to contact the gardaí at Longford."
Longford gardaí are also appealing to anyone who was in the Killashee Street/St Bridget's Terrace area of Longford between 6pm on Saturday and 8.30am yesterday to ring 043-50570. There were early reports that the woman was a non-national, but gardaí were last night unable to confirm this.
The laneway is known locally as Walsh's Lane and is used by pedestrians going to the town centre from the Annally Park and Athlone Road areas of the town.