MRS Joyce Quinn, the 44 year old shopkeeper killed in Co Kildare on Tuesday, died after being stabbed in the heart.
Results from the post mortem on Mrs Quinn's body, disclosed early this morning, showed that she had been stabbed twice. One stab wound was in her throat, but the fatal stabbing was to the heart. Gardai said the results from a forensic examination showing whether or not she had been raped would not be available until later.
Gardai investigating the killing of Mrs Quinn concentrated yesterday on a search for the woman 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 several people he wanted to eliminate from the inquiry.
As other murder investigations continued in Co Galway and Co Kerry yesterday, the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Yates, promised the Government would not "stand idly by" following recent attacks on people in rural areas.
The Government, he added, would soon announce its response to the wave of crimes.
The Minister for Justice, Ms Owen, revived her idea of a constitutional referendum on the bail laws, aimed at reducing offences committed by people on bail. But she acknowledged that extra prison spaces were needed first.
"There is a need for a referendum. If I do have a referendum, if the Government agrees to a referendum, then we must have places to put people into if bail is refused.
It emerged yesterday that the Kerry farmer, Mr Patrick Daly (69), who was found dead near his home outside Killarney last week, sustained serious injuries before he died.
These included a broken shoulder bone, a broken arm, a perforated ear drum and severe injuries to the skull.
Meanwhile gardai in Galway are targeting several suspects in the investigation into the murder of retired farmer Mr Tom Casey (68).