Gardaí investigating the murder of a 89-year-old woman in Co Tipperary last weekend have released without charge a woman arrested for questioning about the killing.
Investigators had arrested a man and a woman, both in their 50s on Friday afternoon for questioning about the murder of mother of five, Josephine Ray at her home in St Joseph’s Park in Nenagh last weekend.
Early on Saturday afternoon, officers released the man without charge and later on Saturday evening, investigators also released the woman without charge with files in relation to both to be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
According to a statement from the Garda Press Office, “Gardaí in Nenagh continue to investigate all the circumstances” surrounding the death of Ms Ray who was well known in the north Tipperary town.
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A grandmother and great grandmother, Ms Ray was found unresponsive at her house by a family member at around midday on Sunday, August 4th, and they immediately contacted the emergency services.
Ms Ray was pronounced dead at the scene and gardaí cordoned off the scene and requested the services of the State Pathologist’s Office and that Garda National Technical Bureau.
A postmortem on Ms Ray’s body by Deputy State Pathologist, Dr Yvonne McCartney, on Monday confirmed that Ms Ray had died from asphyxiation and gardaí launched a murder inquiry.
Officers began door-to-door inquiries in the St Joseph’s Park area while they also began canvassing homes and businesses for CCTV footage to see if they could identify any possible culprits.
Garda technical experts were able to establish that there was no sign of forced entry at Ms Ray’s two-storey terraced house leading to the belief that she may have known her killers and admitted them.
Gardaí confirmed during the week that they were pursuing “a strong line of inquiry” in their investigation and garda sources suggested on Thursday that arrests might well be imminent, and officers moved on Friday to arrest two suspects.
“Gardaí continue to appeal for witnesses to come forward, particularly those who were in the St Joseph’s Park area of Nenagh, Co Tipperary, between 8pm on Saturday 3rd August 2024, and midday on Sunday 4th August 2024.
“Additionally, individuals with video recordings, including motorists with dash cams, from the area within the time frame are asked to provide footage to investigating Gardaí who can be contacted at Nenagh Garda station on 067 50450.”
The arrests of the two suspects on Friday came just hours after Ms Ray was buried at Killodiernan Cemetery near her native Carney in north Tipperary following her funeral mass at St Mary of the Rosary Church in Nenagh.
