Murdered woman 'met man in psychiatric hospital'

A woman murdered and dumped in a river had been in a relationship with a man she met in a psychiatric hospital, it was disclosed today.

Sharon Moore, 30, was stabbed to death before being tossed into the River Lagan at Lisburn, Co Antrim.

Security guards monitoring CCTV cameras at a nearby civic centre later alerted police.

As detectives today questioned a man about the horrific killing, it emerged that Ms Moore had undergone treatment for mental illness, friends disclosed.

One said: “She was in hospital for some time and began a relationship there.”

Following a post mortem examination it has emerged that Ms Moore died from stab wounds to the chest.

When she was taken from the water by police frogmen a fleece jumper was pulled up over her head.

But devastated relatives who had to identify the body have now learned that there were other horrific injuries.

“Sharon’s face was badly mutilated,” a family friend said.

Ms Moore lived alone in a flat at Seymour Hill in Dunmurry, just a few miles from where she was found.

She had moved to the area about two years ago from the Taughmonagh estate in south Belfast.

According to neighbours she confided that a man had been pestering her.

“She said she liked living in her flat and wanted to stay, but there were some problems she needed to sort out,” one said.

Her body was pushed over Queen’s Bridge close to Lisburn civic centre as shocked security guards watched on closed circuit cameras.

A car which detectives believe transported the victim was later stopped and taken away for forensics experts to study blood stains in the boot.

Police have been given an extra 24 hours to question a man in his 30s, from the Lisburn area, who has been arrested.