A male individual is scheduled to be presented in court on Sunday, having been charged with the murder of Daena Walsh. Her body was discovered in a blazing apartment in Co Cork on the previous Friday. The 27-year-old woman, who had two children, was found severely wounded at John Barry House on Connolly Street, Midleton a little after 4.15pm, when smoke was seen emanating from one of the apartments in the premises by residents of the area.
Upon arrival, fire-fighters and paramedics found Ms Walsh in an unconscious state with various injuries. Efforts to revive her were unsuccessful, leading to her subsequent declaration of death on location a while later. It was revealed that a 29-year-old man, previously acquainted with Ms Walsh, was apprehended on the scene under the suspicion of murder, and subsequently transferred to Midleton Garda station for further enquiry.
The man was held in accordance to section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, permitting Gardaí to keep suspects in their custody for no more than 24 hours. Having chosen to halt questioning late on Friday night, the man’s detention was set to conclude at roughly 6am Sunday, by when the Gardaí were required to either charge or free him.
While the outcome of the post-mortem examination on Ms Walsh remains undisclosed by the Gardaí due to operational reasons, it has been verified that she succumbed to multiple stab wounds. Throughout the questioning and detention of the suspect, detectives maintained consistent communication with the Director of Public Prosecutions. Early on Sunday, they were given the instructions to proceed with murder charges against him.