A man has been charged with the murder of an Irish woman in a suburb near Melbourne, Australia.
The body of Annmarie O’Reilly (30), a mother of three, who had family ties to Co Kilkenny and Co Tipperary, was found by a neighbour in her house in Ferntree Gully on Friday morning.
Despite efforts to revive her, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Patrick Stokes (45), also reported to be from Ireland, was arrested nearby and taken into custody, police in the state of Victoria said in a statement.
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He was charged and appeared before Melbourne Magistrates’ Court via video link on Saturday, police confirmed.
He was remanded in custody to appear before the court again on February 23rd next year.
The woman’s brother, Jimmy O’Reilly, paid tribute to her in a post on social media.
“Rest in peace to my beautiful sister Annmarie, the nicest woman you’d meet, the best mother to her kids,” he wrote on Facebook. “May you get the best bed in heaven ... love you so much.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs said it was aware of the case and was providing consular assistance.
“As with all consular case, the department does not comment on the details of individual cases,” a spokeswoman said.
In a statement, police in Victoria said: “Emergency services were called to the residence on Ferntree Gully Road just before 10am on 21 August and located an injured woman.”
“Despite efforts to revive the 30-year-old Ferntree Gully woman, she was declared deceased at the scene.
“It is alleged the parties were known to each other.”
