Police continue to quiz man in connection with murder of Belfast mother

POLICE were continuing to question a 42-year-old man in connection with the murder of a mother-of-four yesterday as mourners began to gather for her funeral.

Thomas Graham, who was the subject of a hunt by police on both sides of the Border, was arrested in the Belturbet area of Co Cavan last night.

He was being questioned by garda detectives in connection with the murder of Geraldine Kane, whose body was discovered in Cavendish Square in the Falls Road area of west Belfast shortly after midnight last Tuesday.

The married 47-year-old, who had been beaten and stabbed, had not been seen since leaving a house in the Clonard Street area to return to her home at Dermot Hill Parade.

The funeral of Mrs Kane, whose youngest child is 12 years old, is to take place at 1pm in Holy Trinity Church in west Belfast.

A spokeswoman for the PSNI said Graham’s arrest was the result of a joint operation carried out with the gardaí.

Before his arrest, the west Belfast man had been spotted driving towards the Border town of Newry, Co Down, last Wednesday.

A garda spokesman confirmed that a 42-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Mrs Kane was arrested by members of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

He added that he was detained at Ballyconnell Garda Station.

Graham can be questioned for an initial six hours and a further period of the same duration.