Friends gather to comfort murder victim’s family
‘WE ARE BEYOND DEVASTATED’ – FAMILY
THE family of a Tralee woman brutally killed in Cork city say they are ‘ beyond devastated’ as they struggle to make sense of the horrific way their loved one was taken from them late on Mother’s Day.
Thirty eight-year-old mother of three Nicola Collins was killed in a flat in the Farranree area of the city, prompting gardaí to launch a murder investigation.
They arrested a 42-year-old man on Monday, releasing him without charge on Tuesday, as they prepared a file for the DPP.
Ms Collins had been living in Cork city for many years but last visited her mom Kay Drew at their St Brendan’s Park home just a fortnight ago in a very happy occasion for the loving pair.
“Nicola’s family are beyond devastated that her life was stolen from her at such a young age,” her cousin April Drew told The Kerryman.
THE devastated family of a Tralee native brutally killed in Cork City on Monday are being comforted by friends and relations as a garda murder investigation into the case continues.
Mother-of-three Nicola Collins (38) died in a vicious attack at an apartment in Farranree in Cork City in the early hours of Monday.
Gardaí in the city launched a murder investigation after a post mortem exam revealed how she had died from multiple head and neck injuries suffered in a vicious assault.
A 42-year-old man from Charleville was arrested on Monday under section four of the Criminal Justice Act and questioned at Mayfield Garda Station before being reportedly released without charge on Tuesday. A file is being prepared for the DPP, gardaí said.
Shock gripped Tralee as news spread on Monday afternoon.
Ms Collins was a native of St Brendan’s Park where her mother Kay Drew lives.
Family and friends rushed to Kay’s side as news of the shocking tragedy spread. Her father, Michael Collins, was likewise being comforted by family and friends at his home in Cork as was her adult son Nick and teenage boys Adam and Michael. Ms Collin’s younger sister Carly was meanwhile on her way home from Barcelona, where she is studying for a Phd at present.
Family described Nicola as a woman who was full of energy and enthusiasm despite having faced challenges in her life. Her cousin April Drew told The Kerryman she always found ‘a way to see the world as a good place’.
“Nicola was full of energy and enthusiasm. She was a big dreamer who planned to travel the world some day. She even wanted to write a book and share it with the world. Despite the hardships she faced later in her life she met them head on and always found a way to see the world as a good place, a place she wanted to be part of and contribute to,” Ms Drew said.
The family’s devastation is made all the worse by the gruesome manner in which their loved one’s life was cut short. “Nicola’s family are beyond devastated that her life was stolen at such a young age. At 38 she had so much to live for and didn’t deserve the horror that was set upon her late into the night on Mother’s Day.”
The killing happened just a fortnight after Nicola Collins had last visited her family at home in Tralee, Ms Drew said.
“Nicola would return to Tralee every few weeks to visit her mother Kay, to whom she was very close, and only two weeks ago the pair spent a lovely weekend together.”
Ms Collins, who was separated, had been living in the Togher area of Cork on the other side of the city from Farranree but it is understood she had been a regular visitor to the flat in which her remains were found.