GARDAI investigating the murder of Co Kildare shop owner Mrs Joyce Quinn are searching for the mobile phone she had before she disappeared.
A senior Garda source confirmed last night Mrs Quinn had the phone, a GSM model, with her when she locked up her shop in the Kildare village of Milltown at around 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
That night, her husband, Comdt Ray Quinn tried to contact her on the phone after she failed to return home at her usual time. Gardai believe all her other belongings have been found.
Yesterday gardai found two sets of keys. Mrs Quinn's car keys were discovered in the school yard at Milltown village where her car was found with blood stained seats. The other set, the keys to her shop, were found near where her body was discovered less than three miles from the village.
The State pathologist, Dr John Harbison, carried out a post mortem in Naas General Hospital yesterday afternoon, but the results were not available last night.
The intensive search of both the Curragh area and the school grounds continued yesterday. In the search for the murder weapon gardai used chain saws to clear thick gorse bushes and also checked the school gutters. The murder weapon has not been found.
The discovery of the car keys may mean Mrs Quinn's killer, or killers, returned the car to the school yard after the murder. It is" still unclear whether she was murdered in Milltown or at the Curragh. Gardai are also considering the possibility that a second car, was used to take Mrs Quinn to the Curragh.
So far gardai at Kildare have received about 300 telephone calls after appealing for information from the public.
One woman has told them she saw a man, who spoke with a foreign accent, in Mrs Quinn's shop shortly before it closed on Tuesday. Chief Supt Sean Feely, who is leading the investigation, said the man was one of a number of people he wanted to eliminate from the inquiry. He said forensic experts had confirmed that the substance on the front seat of Mrs Quinn's car was blood, but they have not as yet confirmed it was her blood.
Mrs Quinn's body is expected to be removed from Naas General Hospital to St Brigid's Parish Church, Kildare, this evening. The funeral Mass will be at midday tomorrow. Mrs Quinn will be buried in St Conleth's Cemetery, Kildare.
