Gardaí believe murdered woman was from Africa

It has emerged the woman's body found in Co Kilkenny on Friday was headless.

Gardaí were initially unsure if the remains, which were found in a black plastic bag, were those of a man or woman.

It is believed she was dead for around a month before her corpse was found.

The woman's age and identity remain a mystery, but gardaí believe she was from Africa and had been living in the area for several years.

Gardaí are considering all possible leads in this investigation.

The badly decomposed nature of the woman's body means she was dead before some time before she was found.

Whether she was killed at the scene in Pilltown in south Kilkenny or her body was simply dumped, remains to be seen.

Local gardaí in Carrick-on-Suir have been backed by up by officers from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

They have been trawling through missing person’s files and conducting door to door inquiries.

Forensic examinations are being carried out on evidence removed from the sc ene but the full details of a post-mortem on the woman's body are not being made public. But it has been revealed that she suffered a violent death.