The family of the missing German woman, Ms Bettina Poeschel, is expected in Ireland this week to help garda∅. The Garda inquiry is being described as having all the hallmarks of a "full-scale murder investigation".
Their return to Ireland comes following the discovery of the partially decomposed body of a young woman in dense undergrowth in Co Meath last week. The discovery was made during a search at the entrance to the crossroads village of Donore on Wednesday morning. The body was lying about 10 feet from the road behind a deep ditch.
Her family, from an area south of Munich, had been advised not to travel to Ireland until this week as the post-mortem examination was expected to take a number of days.
Mr Juergen Poeschel, Bettina's father, travelled to Ireland with her only sister, Cornelia, before last week's discovery. He had given a blood sample, which has been used to help in the identification process.
The State pathologist, Dr John Harbison, was yesterday continuing a post-mortem examination of the woman's body at Our Lady's Hospital in Navan to establish the cause of death. She will not be formally identified until the Poeschel family have seen the body.
It is believed that the woman suffered severe neck injuries, while senior garda∅ say it is likely that she was murdered where the body was found.
The investigation was continuing yesterday evening as Drogheda garda∅ carried out house-to-house calls. "At this stage it has all the hallmarks of a full-scale murder investigation," a Garda spokesman said yesterday.
Assuming that the body is that of Ms Poeschel, her mobile phone and wallet are missing. The body was partially clothed in a jacket like the one last worn by Ms Poeschel when she was last seen.
Ms Poeschel (28), a journalist, was last seen near the same spot on September 25th. She had been on her way to visit Newgrange, about three miles from Donore.
The last definite sighting was at 10.18 a.m. on September 25th when she walked past a CCTV camera at an auctioneer's premises in Drogheda. It is thought she may have been on her way to the bus station from which buses leave regularly for Newgrange.
Ms Poeschel travelled to Ireland alone but was staying with an old school friend and friend of the family who is working with a computer firm in the Dublin area. He reported her missing when she failed to return to his home after her intended trip to Newgrange.
She worked on the southern German newspaper, Sud-Deutsche Zeitungt, as an arts and culture correspondent.
