Investigation underway as man arrested after death of woman in Waterford

Gardaí and emergency services attend the scene of the incident on O'Brien Street at around 10am. 

A man is being questioned after the body of a woman was found in Waterford city this morning.

The woman, aged in her 40s, was discovered by emergency services in an “unresponsive state” after they entered a house on O’Brien Street.

She was pronounced dead shortly afterwards. A man, aged in his 30s, was arrested, understood to be on suspicion of assault. It is understood the man was arrested at the scene.

A post mortem examination is due to be conducted tomorrow morning, which will determine whether or not the investigation is upgraded to murder.

The incident took place on a quiet street in the old part of Waterford City. Locals said the street is generally a settled area, but with some of the small terraced houses being rented in recent times.

The alarm was raised at around 10am with gardaí and ambulance crews rushing to the scene.

The area has been sealed off since then and the deceased remains in situ, pending the arrival of the Technical Bureau from Dublin.

One local source said: “This is a very quiet part of the city and is right beside De La Salle primary school. It’s very settled and some families have been there a long time, though there is some renting in recent years.” 

A Garda statement said: “Gardaí are investigating the death of a woman in her 40s following an incident in Waterford City on Saturday, January 25.

“Shortly after 10.00am, Gardaí and emergency services responded to an incident at a residence on O’Brien Street, Waterford, where the woman was found unresponsive. She was pronounced deceased at the scene a short time later.

"A man in his 30s was subsequently arrested in connection with the incident. He is currently detained at a Garda station in the Eastern Region under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, on suspicion of an offence under the Non-Fatal Offenses Against the Person Act.

"The deceased remains at the scene, which is currently being preserved for examination by the Garda Technical Bureau.” 

The statement said that the Office of the State Pathologist and the local coroner have been notified.

“A post-mortem examination is scheduled for tomorrow morning, Sunday, January 26," it said. "The findings from the post-mortem will assist Gardaí in determining the course of their investigation.” 

It said that a senior investigating officer (SIO) has been appointed to lead the investigation and an incident room has been established at Waterford Garda Station.

A family liaison officer (FLO) has also been assigned to support the family.

Gardaí are appealing for witnesses to contact them and are seeking any available camera footage, including dashcam recordings, from those who were in the vicinity of O’Brien Street at the time of the incident.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Waterford Garda Station on 051 305322 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.

Local sources said today’s grim discovery comes little over a week after a woman’s body was found a short distance away.

This relates to woman, aged in her 20s, whose body was found in a home on Alexander Street on Sunday 12 January.

Following a post mortem, gardaí said they were not treating that death as suspicious.