A 27-year-old man is being questioned by gardaí investigating the murder of a woman who was attacked and stabbed while working in a shop in Kilkenny’s city centre.
Relatives and friends of the family of Mairead Moran (26), assistant manager at the Holland & Barrett health shop in Market Cross shopping centre, are comforting her family following her violent death last night.
It is understood Ms Moran, who was originally from Kilmaganny in Co Kilkenny but had lived in the city for a number of years, was stabbed a number of times in the chest by a man who entered the shop at about 8.30pm .
She is believed to have attempted to keep him out of the shop, using the door, but was overcome by the man. She fell out the doorway of the shop after her attacker fled the scene. Despite emergency treatment from paramedics at the scene, she was pronounced dead at St Luke's Hospital shortly afterwards.
Escorted from premises
Gardaí said the man who stabbed Ms Moran had also called to the shop a short time earlier, had harassed her and had been escorted from the premises by security personnel. It is understood he shouted at her when he returned to the scene, before carrying out the fatal attack.
Gardaí recovered a knife from the scene of the murder and the area was sealed off last night and the shopping centre remained closed to the public for much of today while members of the Garda Technical Bureau carried out a forensic examination. A post mortem examination was also carried out on Ms Moran's body.
Left in taxi
It is understood the suspect left the vicinity of Market Cross, which is just off High Street in the centre of Kilkenny, in a taxi last night. Gardaí arrested a 27-year-old man in the house of an “associate” of his shortly afterwards and he has since been detained under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.
He is originally from a village in Co Kilkenny but had been living in the city.
Ms Moran was a single woman who had worked for Holland & Barrett for a number of years.
Local councillor Matt Doran said the victim was “very quiet and a good, decent young lady”. He described the incident as “absolutely shocking” and said people in the area were stunned by what had happened.
