Gardai yesterday interviewed dozens of teenagers and possible witnesses in order to retrace the last movements and circumstances surrounding the murder of Dun Laoghaire teenager Raonaid Murray (17).
And as a reconstruction of the details known about the murder was televised on RTE's Crimeline last night, detectives appeared more hopeful than they did on Sunday of solving the case.
Gardai close to the investigation expressed concern at the weekend that the viciousness of the attack suggested premeditation. There was also a concern that the attacker could strike again.
It is believed Ms Murray either met or was followed by her killer late on Friday night. She died from multiple stab wounds from a large, possibly double-edged, knife with a 1 1/2" wide blade.
It was not clear if Ms Murray knew her killer but the fact that her attacker was armed with such a knife suggests a clear intention to kill.
Gardai had some difficulty over the weekend establishing the exact route Ms Murray took from the centre of Dun Laoghaire to her home in Glenageary. However, information received during inquiries yesterday suggested she might have walked from just outside Dun Laoghaire Shopping Centre up Northumberland Avenue, and on to Tivoli Road.
Her route then took her along Tivoli Road and possibly through Crosthwaite Park on to Lower Glenageary Road and into Silchester Road. On Silchester Road, she then cut through the lane towards her home and it was there she was attacked.
She was stabbed repeatedly and managed to walk and crawl almost a further 100 yards towards her home before collapsing. She was found by her elder sister, Sarah, who arrived in Silchester Park with friends a short time after the attack.
A team of more than 50 detective and uniformed officers has been assembled at Dun Laoghaire Garda station. Most of these officers spent yesterday visiting friends of the dead teenager and speaking to witnesses who had been in Dun Laoghaire or Glenageary on Friday night.
The murder took place at around midnight. Ms Murray, who was wearing platform shoes, slacks and a blue top, left Scotts Pub in George's Street at around 11.30 p.m. on Friday. She intended returning home and collecting money with the intention of returning to Dun Laoghaire to meet a friend.
Her killer made no attempt to steal either her handbag or the carrier bag from the clothes boutique in the shopping centre where she had worked during the summer. There was also no attempt at sexual assault.
Ms Murray had completed her Leaving Cert exams at the Institute of Education in Leeson Street, Dublin, this year.
Several hundred callers phoned Crimeline after an appeal for information. Chief Supt Pat Culhane said "a number of very useful calls" would be followed up, but none had included sightings of her between 11.30 p.m. and 12.10 a.m.