The chief suspect for the murder of Mirjana Pap (58), who was reported missing last weekend before her remains were found, was expected to be questioned as early as Friday about the killing, having been taken into custody in recent days on another matter.
A bench warrant had previously been issued for the man over an offence he is alleged to have committed. That warrant has since been executed, resulting in the suspect being detained.
That has given gardaí investigating Ms Pap’s murder, in Athlone, Co Westmeath, more time to gather evidence, and strengthen their case. An imminent arrest of the suspect on suspicion of murder and evidence being put to him during interviews was expected.
Ms Pap, a widowed mother of adult children, had fears for her own safety in the period before her murder. The reasons for those fears form part of the murder inquiry, with gardaí following a definite line of inquiry.
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Ms Pap was originally from Croatia and had lived in Ireland for about two decades.
Immediately Ms Pap was reported missing there were very serious concerns for her welfare, and gardaí began a significant investigation to try to locate her.
Two vehicles were seized for examination, and Ms Pap’s home in Athlone was also forensically examined. Gardaí suspect she was violently attacked in her home early on Saturday.
She was reported missing later that day and her remains were discovered on Monday about 10km away in a field in Curraghaleen, Co Roscommon. Gardaí suspect she was murdered in Athlone and her body then moved to the location where it was discovered.
The area where the body was found, in a ditch on remote farmland, was immediately sealed off by gardaí for examination after gardaí received specific information.
Gardaí are now hopeful evidence gathered from the two seized vehicles will help advance their inquiries. The investigation team at Athlone Garda station is also seeking the public’s assistance in trying to track the movements of a silver 08-G-registered Peugeot 207 that forms part of the inquiry.
They are keen to pinpoint the movements of that car between 11am and noon on Saturday, the day Ms Pap was reported missing. Gardaí believe the car was driven from the Beechville estate of Athlone on to the N6 motorway, westbound, from junction 11 to junction 13, before continuing on the R362 from Monksland to Bealnaulla.
Any motorist who was travelling on that route between 11am and midday on Saturday, especially those who may have dashcam footage, is asked to contact gardaí in Athlone. Gardaí have issued a photograph of a similar vehicle in an attempt to prompt witnesses to contact them.
After Ms Pap’s remains were discovered on Monday, a postmortem was carried out by Deputy State Pathologist Dr Yvonne McCarthy at Galway University Hospital. The results of that examination confirmed Ms Pap had been the victim of a violent attack and a murder investigation commenced.
An incident room was established at Athlone Garda station, with a senior investigating officer appointed to lead the team of investigators from the Meath-Westmeath Garda division. They were being aided by the National Bureau of Investigation, the Garda’s serious crimes squad.
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