Gardaí: Woman found in bag on street was strangled

Gardaí believe the woman whose body was found in a travel bag yesterday morning on a Dublin street was strangled.

The woman, who has yet to be formally identified, is believed to be in her mid-20s and from Malawi.

It is understood that she was a student and living in Rathmines. She had been living here for a number of years.

Investigators said eyewitnesses had seen the bag on the footpath at around 7pm on Saturday.

Officers are hoping that people (pedestrians, motorists or residents) who were in the area at around teatime on Saturday saw something suspicious on St David’s Terrace, a short row of terraced houses on Blackhorse Avenue, in the north inner city.

Garda experts were last night going through personal items and a small bag, which had been stuffed into the suitcase along with her.

The bag is about 4ft by 2½ft. It has wheels and a handle.

The woman was described as being less than 5ft in height. There were no obvious signs of violence, but gardaí were treating it as a murder investigation from early on.

A postmortem was being conducted last night to establish cause of death, age and other injuries.

DNA samples, a dental examination and fingerprint samples were also taken to help identify her and gather any evidence against possible suspects.

A passerby noticed the bag half on the footpath and half on the road at around 8.30am yesterday. It is thought the bag had been lying against a car and fell onto the road when the owner of a car drove off earlier that morning.

When the passerby opened the bag they saw a body and alerted the gardaí.

Gardaí conducted house-to-house enquiries on St David’s Terrace, which is around 100 metres from McKee Military Barracks and a short distance from North Circular Road and Phoenix Park.

Officers are collecting and examining CCTV footage on North Circular Road and at nearby shops to see if anything of value was caught on them. Gardaí have also contacted McKee Barracks to see if any of their cameras point out of the main entrance.

Deputy state pathologist Dr Michael Curtis conducted a preliminary examination at the scene. He directed the body remain in the bag, which was taken for X-rays at Beaumont Hospital.

The bag was then taken to the city morgue for the postmortem.

Detectives suspect the woman may have been visiting someone in the area, or was brought by car to the road in the bag.

Once gardaí are able to formally identify her, they will attempt to find her address or any addresses associated with her, one of which could be a crime scene. They will also try to identify her associates, friends and family and talk to them.

* Anyone with information can contact the Bridewell Garda Station 01 6668200 or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111.