The Department of Foreign Affairs is liaising with the family of Irish woman Kirsty Ward, a mother-of-one who was killed in Spain while on holiday in Spain last Sunday.
The body of the 36-year-old was found lying in a corridor by staff in the Magnolia Hotel. A 30-year-old man, who is understood to have known Ms Ward was arrested by police on suspicion of killing her.
He was remanded in custody following a court appearance last Wednesday.
A statement issued on behalf of the young woman’s family explained that the Department of Foreign Affairs are “liaising with the family of mother-of-one Kirsty Ward from Dublin.”
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The family said that they “would not be making any further comment or statements” and asked for privacy during this “distressing time”.
The family also released a photograph of Ms Ward for the first time.
The suspect, who has not been named by Spanish police authorities, was arrested at the Costa Dorada holiday resort in Salou a short time after her body was discovered. He had been lying beside Ms Ward in the corridor of the adults’ only hotel - just outside their bedroom.
The investigation into the death of Ms Ward will now take several months while he remains in custody as he has been declared an “investigado” — a person under investigation by the Spanish court.