The bodies of Jolanta Lubiene and her daughter Enrika arrived back to their home town of Gedrimai in Northern Lithuania this afternoon, three weeks after they were found dead at their home in Killorglin, County Kerry.
The funeral of Ms Lubiene and her eight-year old daughter will take place tomorrow in the Catholic church in nearby Gadunavas before the burial in a nearby cemetery.
Ms Lubiene and her daughter were found dead at their rented home in Killorglin on June 16th.
A 26-year old Lithuanian man has been subsequently charged with their murder.
Members of Ms Lubiene’s family, including her 56 year old father and visibly upset 54 year old mother, accompanied the coffins into the local community centre, where they will repose this afternoon. Mourners are expected to arrive from early evening to pay their respects.
The community centre formerly housed the school where Jolanta Lubiene , her sister and four brothers, attended school. All six siblings have spent time working in Ireland, with Jolanta's brother Arvydas first coming to Ireland to work as a butcher in Glenbeigh County Kerry. Only Ms Lubiene and her elder sister Kristina have remained in Ireland, where both worked in Supervalu in Killorglin.
Ms Lubiene had been due to return to Lithuania next Monday with her daughter, with the intention of returning permanently. Her father has been ill with cancer for some time. Her husband, Marius, who had been working in Sweden since December, is also in Gedrimai for the funeral.
Gedrimai, is a small village located just outside the city of Telsiai, almost 300 kilometres north of the capital Vilnius, near the Latvian border..
Tens of thousands of euro was raised in Killorglin to help fund the repatriation of the bodies to Lithuania.
Mr Aurimas Andruska, of 7 Ard Moniel Height, Killorglin, Co Kerry, has been charged with the murder of Ms Lubiene at 9 Langford Downs Killorglin on June 15th. He was also charged with unlawfully killing Enrika Lubyte on the same date. Mr Andruska has denied both charges.
