Gardaí are treating the death of a 57-year-old woman in Co Leitrim as suspicious after she was found with injuries outside her home yesterday morning.
The State pathologist is expected at Sligo General Hospital today to carry out a post-mortem examination to establish the exact cause of death.
The woman, named locally as Ms Ann Logan, was found unconscious outside her home in the outskirts of Mohill village at about 8.15 a.m. Her two dogs, who were lying beside her, were taken away by gardaí. It is believed she was lying outdoors all night.
Garda Insp Liam Fletcher said gardaí were keeping an open mind as to the cause of death. "She had wounds to her body, but we don't know if she died from her injuries or from hypothermia, but we are investigating every possibility," he said.
Insp Fletcher confirmed that the woman's dogs were taken away when gardaí cordoned off the scene. A suggestion locally that the wounds were inflicted by her dogs was just one possibility being examined.
It was also suggested in the area that Ms Logan, who lived alone, may have fallen and been unable to raise the alarm. Insp Fletcher said a technical examination of the scene had been carried out and questionnaires would be circulated in the area today.
Ms Logan was still alive when found by neighbours, but was pronounced dead later in Sligo General Hospital.
Her husband died suddenly five months ago. He worked in a chip-shop owned by the couple in Mohill. He was from Leitrim originally while Ms Logan was Scottish.