The prosecution has finished calling evidence in the trial of a retired army private accused of murdering a prostitute who he claimed blackmailed him for up to €40,000.

A retired member of the Defence Forces accused of murdering a woman in Westmeath told gardaí he was being blackmailed by her for up to €40,000 or else she would tell his wife.

DNA on a knife found in the car of a retired member of the defence forces matched that of a prostitute he is accused of murdering in Co Westmeath four years ago, a jury has heard.

The trial of a retired member of the defence forces accused of murdering a woman in Co Westmeath has heard evidence that he had bloodshot eyes and scratches on his hands on the night in question.

State claims former soldier killed woman in a bog four years ago because she was blackmailing him

The funeral of murder victim Marie Greene is underway in her home town of Athlone.

The funeral of Marie Greene will take place later this week.

Post mortem results on the body of a woman whose body was recovered from a bog in Co Westmeath yesterday are expected to show she died from stab wounds.

AN ex-soldier has been charged with the murder of 37-year-old Marie Greene, whose body has been recovered from a midlands bog.

A 63-year-old man is to appear in court in this evening charged with the murder of Marie Greene in Athlone, Co Westmeath.

Human remains discovered in bogland just outside Athlone this morning have now been removed to the Midlands Regional Hospital for a post mortem examination.

Gardaí searching for a missing woman in the Midlands have made a discovery in boglands on the east side of Athlone.

The State Pathologist has been asked to attend the scene of a search for a missing woman in Co Westmeath.

GARDAÍ arrested a man in his 60s on suspicion of murdering missing woman Marie Greene after checking phone contacts between him and the Athlone woman.

Gardaí investigating the suspected murder of Marie Greene in Athlone, Co Westmeath have carried out searches on bogland and various other locations in the area, but so far say Marie's body has not been found.

A man has been arrested in connection with the disappearance of a woman in the Midlands whom gardaí believe may have been murdered.

THE mother of a missing 37-year-old Co Westmeath woman believes her daughter has either been abducted or is dead.

Gardaí are appealing for help in their search for a missing woman in Co Westmeath.

ONE young life could be saved each week as a result of a new screening centre for young people at risk of sudden cardiac death.

FAMILIES who have lost loved ones through Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS) could soon be screened for the condition at the country’s first one-stop heart clinic.