Body found in Kildare reservoir following serious assault on woman

A house fire was extinguished shortly after 6am in Oaklawn West, Leixlip

The scene is being preserved for a technical examination. File picture: Dan Linehan

Gardaí have said they do not believe anyone else was involved in an incident in which an assaulted woman was taken from a burning house in Kildare and a man's body was later found in a nearby reservoir.

Emergency services and gardaí were called to a house in Oaklawn West, Leixlip, where a house fire was extinguished shortly after 6am.

A woman in her 50s was treated by emergency services and taken to Connolly Hospital in Blanchardstown for treatment of serious injuries.

The scene is being preserved for a technical examination.

A Garda spokesperson said: "The body of a male, aged in his 50s, was later recovered from the Leixlip Reservoir, Co. Kildare by the Garda Water Unit."

Gardaí are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed either incident to contact them.

The fire is understood to have broken out at around 5am.

While the woman was rescued from the burning property, the body of the man was later found ​in nearby​ Parsonstown, about​ a 40-minute walk away.

The fire, understood to have caught hold in or near the property’s bathroom, caused a large amount of thick white smoke that spread through neighbouring properties.

The couple is understood to have moved into the house, near the end of the cul-de-sac, about 15 years ago.

Although the man was routinely seen out and around the couple’s home, which they had renovated shortly after they moved in, he had not been seen as much “for at least a month”, according to other neighbours.

A near neighbour who knew him said: “I can only speak as I find, and I found him to be a lovely person to know. She is also very nice, and they were both always very polite."

​Of the fire, the neighbour said: "I woke around 5am, to the sound of heavy engines or turbines and sirens.

"I looked out my window, and all I could see was very thick white smoke. I just thought it seemed very foggy, until I smelled the smoke."

Another neighbour said: “They were a fairly quiet couple who tended to keep themselves to themselves.

“It is a quiet cul-de-sac, and nothing like this has ever happened. You get retired teachers, solicitors and other professionals.

“They would have been one of the youngest couples living here."

Anyone who was in the areas of Oaklawn West, Leixlip, the N4 and the Leixlip Reservoir between 5.30am and 8am and who may have video footage (including dash-cam) are asked to make this footage available to investigating gardaí.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Leixlip Garda Station on [phone], the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda station.