Killer may have mistaken victim for other woman

A MOTHER of three fatally stabbed in the street may have been the victim of mistaken identity.

Frances Ralph, a 46-year-old bank worker and mother of three sons aged 12 to 20, was stabbed in the back as she waited in a taxi queue with her husband and friends. The couple were celebrating their anniversary with a meal in Naas, Co Kildare, two miles from their Sallins home.

A 49-year-old man, arrested after he was chased and tackled to the ground by witnesses, was yesterday questioned by gardaí.

Ms Ralph’s husband Mick cradled his wife as she lay dying on the street.

Frances Ward, the couple’s next-door neighbour, said of Ms Ralph: “I will remember her as a neighbour who always had a smile. She would walk her dog, a golden labrador, every day, always with a smile on her face.”

Superintendent Tom Neville, heading the investigation, said it was too early to speculate about a motive but described the attack as “entirely unprovoked”.

He appealed to any witnesses on Naas Main Street between midnight and 1am yesterday to come forward.

Local sources said the suspect had attacked at least one other woman earlier in the evening. There is speculation the attacker, who is reported to have a prior assault conviction, either mistook Ms Ralph for that woman or that it was entirely random.

Kevin O’Neill, who witnessed the aftermath of Ms Ralph’s stabbing, said the man ran down a lane chased by a number of men.

“Two got him down. Two others came along, one was shouting at him, the other was trying to get at him. They managed to sit on him until the gardaí came,” said Mr O’Neill.

Geoff Stack, an off-duty taxi driver, was one of those who tackled the man.

A work colleague said: “He spent the night in the garda station. They took his clothes because they were covered in blood. He’s fairly traumatised by it all.”

Gardaí decided against waiting for an ambulance and brought the dying woman to hospital, where she was pronounced dead at about 1.30am.

The suspect was taken into custody but was moved to Tallaght Hospital yesterday morning, where he was treated for non-serious injuries. He could face a court appearance today.