Gardaí were last night continuing to question a couple arrested in connection with the murder of a 54-year-old mother of two whose body was found in the boot of her car in Waterford city two days after she disappeared from her family home.
Detectives investigating the death of Mrs Mary Walsh, from Kilrossanty, near Leamybrien, in Co Waterford, arrested a 58-year-old man in Wexford town at 11.30 a.m. yesterday and brought him to Tramore Garda station for questioning.
Two hours later gardaí arrested the man's 33-year-old wife at her home in Co Waterford. She was also brought to Tramore Garda station. Both were arrested under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, which allows suspects to be detained for up to 12 hours.
Supt Jerry Lynch of Tramore Garda station, who is heading the inquiry team of around 40 gardaí, confirmed yesterday that gardaí were looking for no one else in connection with the death, which has shocked the closely knit rural community where Mrs Walsh lived with her husband, Patrick.
Mrs Walsh worked as a debt-collector for a money-lending company in the south-east and she was due to deposit a sum of money believed to be between €10,000 and €20,000 at a bank in Kilmacthomas, some five miles from her home on Monday morning, but she failed to make the deposit. The money remains missing.
Supt Lynch, who spoke at a press conference yesterday, said gardaí were still trying to establish where exactly Mrs Walsh was murdered. They were also looking for a murder weapon.
"At this stage I cannot see any other motive, other than the money," he said.
Mrs Walsh was known to have an appointment to meet a man on Monday morning. When her worried family reported her missing on Monday evening, gardaí contacted the man and arranged to meet him on Tuesday in Kilmacthomas, but he failed to keep the appointment.
Gardaí had issued a description of Mrs Walsh and her blue Hyundai coupé. At around 12.15 p.m. on Wednesday, a taxi-driver reported seeing the car in Cathal Brugha Street in Waterford city.
Gardaí removed the car to Tramore Garda station, where they opened the boot and found Mrs Walsh's body with marks on her head and neck.
The State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, carried out a post-mortem on the body at Waterford Regional Hospital on Wednesday night, but Supt Lynch said yesterday that gardaí would not be releasing the findings for "operational reasons".
He confirmed that gardaí had found no trace of the money Mrs Walsh was carrying at the time of her disappearance.
He appealed to anyone who may have seen Mrs Walsh's car between Kilrossanty and Waterford city on Monday morning to contact them.