Updated at 21:29
Gardaí have begun a murder investigation after a woman was killed in an attack on a canal bank tow path in Co Offaly while jogging in the area.
A suspect has been arrested by local gardaí and was in custody on Wednesday evening. The man being questioned is in his 40s and was being detained at Tullamore Garda station under the provisions of section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984.
One line of inquiry is that the killer was a stranger to the woman and that the attack was random, though Garda sources stressed the investigation was at a very early stage.
As The Irish Times reports, the fatal assault took place at about 4pm at Cappincur on the Grand Canal.
The dead woman, believed to be in her 20s, was well known in the area and is believed to be originally from a townland just outside Tullamore.
The Office of the State Pathologist and the Garda Technical Bureau have been notified.
An incident room has been established at Tullamore Garda Station under a Senior Investigating Officer. A family liaison officer has been appointed and is liaising with the family of the deceased.
Gardaí are appealing for anyone with information on this fatal assault to come forward.
In particular Gardaí are appealing to anyone who was in the Cappincur/Canal walk area of Tullamore, County Offaly before 4pm this afternoon Wednesday, 12th January, 2022, to make contact with them.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Tullamore Garda Station on 057 932 7600, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.
