A 38-year-old man is to appear in court in Wicklow on Thursday morning charged in connection with the murder of mother of three Anne Shortall (47).
Gardaí upgraded the status of their investigation into the killing of Ms Shortall to that of a murder inquiry on the completion of a postmortem on her body at St Columcille’s Hospital in Dublin on Wednesday.
A search for a hammer believed to have been used in the killing is continuing at the Murrough, a coastal area close to Wicklow town.
The man due in court today is being detained at Wicklow Garda station under the provisions of section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984. A Garda source said detectives were not seeking anyone else in relation to the woman’s death.
A candlelit vigil was held on Wednesay night.
Ms Shortall, a mother of three adult children and grandmother to two children, was from Rathnew, near Wicklow town. She was last seen alive at Leitrim Place in the town at about 4pm on Good Friday. A missing person alert was issued by gardaí on Monday following her disappearance.
A team of more then 100 local people and gardaí searched a nearby area on the coast known as the Murrough on Monday and Tuesday, but the search was called off after her body was discovered by gardaí.
Gardaí continue to preserve a site at the Murrough where it is believed Ms Shortall was killed before her body was taken to Kiloughter and hidden under a tarpaulin in a shed in a field.
State Pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy carried out a preliminary investigation before the body was taken to St Columcille’s hospital. The Wicklow coroner was also notified.
It is understood Ms Shortall, who was a member of the well-known Doyle family from Rathnew, was separated.
