Man due in Dublin court over murder of Mary Ward in Belfast 

Mary Ward, 22, was found dead at her home in Melrose St in Belfast on Tuesday, October 1

Officers at the scene of the murder of Mary Ward who was found dead at a terraced house in Belfast's Melrose Street. 

The man arrested by gardaí over the murder of Mary Ward in Belfast is due to appear before the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin this morning.

Mary Ward, 22, was found dead at her home in Melrose St in Belfast on October 1. 

She is believed to have last been seen alive on September 25.

A murder investigation into her death was launched by detectives from the Police Service of Northern Ireland last Monday.

On Tuesday, the case was referred to Northern Ireland's Police Ombudsman because of previous contact between Ms Ward and the PSNI.

The Ombudsman confirmed that Ms Ward had reported to the PSNI in recent weeks that she had been the victim of a violent crime.

On Wednesday afternoon, detectives attached to the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation confirmed they had arrested a man in his 20s on suspicion of Mary Ward's murder.

Mary Ward is the fourth woman to be murdered in Northern Ireland in just six weeks.