Murder probe as woman’s body found on roadside

GARDAÍ hope footage from CCTV cameras will provide clues behind the callous murder of a woman.

The woman was wrapped in some sort of sheet or blanket and tied in a rope before being dumped on the side of a road.

The body was discovered early yesterday morning in Dublin city centre beside a number of flats complexes.

Gardaí officially launched a murder investigation yesterday afternoon and confirmed the woman suffered a number of injuries.

Detectives are investigating whether the body was dumped out of a passing vehicle. A number of residents said they heard the screeches from a car at around 4am yesterday, but thought it was just a stolen car.

The body was found by a passerby, who immediately alerted the emergency services, at around 4.15am.

A garda spokesman said: “This is being treated as a murder investigation. The scene has been preserved and a crime scene investigation is ongoing.”

Gardaí immediately sealed off the area on the junction of Mercer Street Upper and Aungier Place.

Experts from the Garda Technical Bureau carried out a detailed examination of the scene. A full post-mortem examination was conducted at the city morgue yesterday evening.

“The woman suffered a number of injuries, but these will not be confirmed until the post mortem has completed,” said a garda spokesman.

He said the woman, who was white, had not yet been identified.

There was no information of possible age.

Gardaí from Harcourt Terrace Station began door-to-door inquiries yesterday in the flats complexes surrounding the scene.

Det Supt PJ Browne asked anyone with information to contact Harcourt Terrace Station on 01-6669500.

“We’re appealing to anybody who was passing the area to come forward to contact us at Harcourt Terrace Garda Station. We’re also appealing to people to check on neighbours to see if there are any people missing,” he said.