The man suspected of murdering a woman at her home in Hartstown, Dublin 15, is expected to remain in hospital for several more days before he can be interviewed by gardaí.
Jean Eagers (57) died at Willow Wood Grove in Hartstown on Sunday morning after being attacked with a least one bladed weapon. A samurai sword and a meat cleaver found at the scene are being examined as possible murder weapons.
Ms Eagers, who worked in the Marks and Spencer store in the nearby Blanchardstown shopping centre was described on Monday as "a lovely woman" who "loved her family".
Throughout the day neighbours left flowers outside the bungalow home in the quiet estate in Dublin 15. The taxi owned by Ms Eagers’s husband William remains in the drive and a living room window broken by armed gardaí to throw in a stun grenade could be seen at the front of the house.
" She was a lovely and caring person to work for and she loved her family inside out," said Wendy Smith, who worked with Ms Eagers since 2004, as she left flowers at the house. "She was always in great form, always great for a chat."
Other mourners, who declined to be named, expressed shock at the circumstances of Ms Eagers’s death.
One card left at the scene was addressed to her son Dillion who raised the alarm about the attack. Ms Eagers also had a daughter who married last year.
It is understood Dillion witnessed the start of the fatal assault on Sunday morning and left the house to get help.
Local gardaí, accompanied by the Armed Support Unit (ASU) and emergency services arrived at about 11.30am.
There they found the chief suspect, a 60-year-old man, who had locked himself in the house and was refusing to come out despite warnings from gardaí. He told gardaí he would not allow them inside the house, that they should put down their weapons.
At that point, gardaí believed the woman may have still been alive and decided to perform a “tactical breach” to save her life. ASU members broke the front window and threw in the stun grenade to disorientate the man before breaking down the door.
They then hit him with a Taser stun gun and arrested him before administering medical treatment to Ms Eagers. But she died at the scene.
A witnesses described seeing blood coming from the man’s head as he was escorted from the house but it is not known if this was a self-inflicted injury or sustained during the arrest.
Postmortem results
He was brought initially to Blanchardstown Garda station before being medically assessed and transferred to nearby Connolly hospital.
Gardaí have 24 hours to question a suspect before charge or release. But this time limit is suspended if the suspect requires medical treatment.A Garda spokesman declined to detail the nature of his injuries. Sources said he is expected to remain in hospital for several more days before he is judged fit to be questioned.
A postmortem was carried out on Monday morning, however gardaí declined to release the results citing “operational reasons”.
Ms Eagers is the 14th person and the second woman to die as a result of murder or suspected murder this year.
