Gardaí find body after anonymous phonecall

AN anonymous phone call led to the discovery of a body of a 45-year-old woman in a flat in Cork, gardaí said yesterday.

They have asked the public for help in piecing together the last movements of the woman.”

Gardaí said they were treating the death of the unemployed single woman as unusual but were awaiting the outcome of a post-mortem, which was carried out last night at Cork University Hospital.

The woman, identified as Nora Kiely, a native of Mallow, Co Cork, had lived in the flat at 26 A in Leitrim Street for a number of years.

The anonymous phone call was made at 11.45pm on Monday.

Superintendent Martin Shanahan, the officer leading the enquiry, said gardaí arrived at the three-storey six-flat complex a short time later.

“After the search of the various flats, the body of a middle-aged woman was found in a downstairs flat,” Superintendent Shanahan said.

Ms Kiely was described locally as a shy person who was always well dressed.

“She was a harmless sort of person and she minded her own business. We used to see her passing here quite a lot and she’d come in once or twice,” publican Donal O’Flynn said.

He said she would sometimes pop into O’Keeffe’s bar, just a few yards from her flat, to use the pay phone, but kept to herself.

“She was a bit eccentric. We were very sad to hear what happened,” Mr O’Keeffe said.

Deputy State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy carried out a preliminary inspection of the body at the flat yesterday afternoon. A team of forensic experts from the Garda Technical Bureau in Dublin also travelled to Cork, where they carried out extensive examinations at the scene.

Onlookers watched in silence as the body was removed from the flat. It was then taken to the city mortuary at Cork University Hospital where Dr Cassidy carried out the post-mortem.

Superintendent Shanahan said gardaí wanted to speak to anyone who may have seen or heard anything suspicious in the Leitrim Street area on Monday evening.

“We would also like to speak to anyone who met the woman from early on Monday morning until her body was discovered on Monday night,” Superintendent Shanahan said.

He said people with information should contact Mayfield garda station at 021-4558510.