Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BODIES LAY IN FLAT FOR THREE DAYS
Police probe after mum, teen daughter and man found dead
THE bodies of a mum, daughter and man killed in a suspected murdersuicide lay undiscovered for three days.
Police made the grim find in Newry, Co Down, at around 11am yesterday. Giselle Irinna, 37, and her daughter Alyson, 15, lived in a block of apartments in the city.
Sinn Fein councillor Charlie Casey, who was briefed by a PSNI officer, said: “When the news and the information does come out it will be a shock to the entire community.”
A MUM found dead along with her daughter and a man in a suspected murder-suicide was suffering from depression, it was claimed last night.
It is believed the bodies lay at an apartment in Newry for three days before being discovered yesterday.
A friend paid tribute to Giselle Irinna, 37, from Colombia, who lived in the flat with her 15-year-old daughter Alyson.
They told the Daily Mirror:
“She was a quiet girl, hard-working.
“When she was with us she was very funny. But she was having some trouble with her daughter. My friend was depressed.”
The man, believed to be from Scotland, is understood to have been in a relationship with Giselle.
The friend added her daughter had been missing class at Newry High School.
The pair lived in the flat with their two dogs and it is believed Giselle had just one family member, a sister, living locally.
Sinn Fein councillor Charlie Casey said he was briefed by a police officer, who claimed the full extent of the tragedy will frighten the public. He added: “What he did say was we can rule out gas and carbon monoxide.
“Other than that it’s a bit of a disaster. When the news and the information does come out it will be a shock to the community.”
Det Supt Jason Murphy said officers forced entry into the flat after the alarm was raised by a relative.
Speaking at the scene, he added: “At about 11am this morning, the police received a call from a concerned member of a family worried that they hadn’t been in contact with the family for a number of days. Police officers responded to a flat at Glin Ree Court and forced entry to the flat and found inside the bodies of three people.
“At this stage the bodies are those of a young female, aged approximately 15, a female aged approximately 37 and a male aged approximately 38.
“As yet we have no defined cause of death for those individuals.
“At this stage I do not believe anybody else is involved in the deaths of those three individuals and I’m not currently seeking anybody else in connection with their deaths.
“At this stage I’m treating this as a murder investigation, the exact cause of death with regard to the three individuals is as yet unclear.
“The cause of death is as yet undefined but I’m content at this stage to conduct a murder investigation to establish the cause of death and the circumstances.”
It is not clear if the man lived in the apartment block.
One resident told the Daily Mirror: “I very rarely saw the man. He didn’t give the impression he lived there.”
Friends of Giselle, from Barranquilla, and Alyson visited the scene yesterday to lay floral tributes.
A resident said: “The mum and daughter kept themselves to themselves.
“It’s a great area so it’s a shock for all
I’m content to conduct a murder probe to find the cause of death DET SUPT JASON MURPHY YESTERDAY
the residents. It’s a very, very quiet, very reserved area.
“You would have passed the daughter in the elevator, you’d have passed her in the stairs, you’d have passed her coming in the door.
“She was a really nice kid, she was just like any other child would be.”
The neighbour added the man also “kept himself to himself ”.
He added: “You’d wouldn’t have seen him about that often.”
Angelina, from Lithuania and who has lived in the modern flats for two years, said she was stunned by the deaths.
She added: “There are some Brazilian, Spanish and Polish people living in the apartment block. I am in so much shock, the people are lovely here and it’s very quiet.”
The entire complex was sealed off as forensics officers carried out investigations throughout the afternoon.
SDLP Assembly member Justin Mcnulty told the Daily Mirror there are “really, really dark clouds hanging over” the area.
He added: “This is a very quiet, civilised part of Newry.
“It’s really shocking for this sort of event to happen in our city. This city has taken a real kick in the stomach today.”
His fellow party councillor Michael Savage also expressed disbelief over the discovery of the remains. He added: “We’re dealing with what appears to be a very tragic incident here in what is traditionally a very quiet part of the city.
“We got word this morning at 11am that three bodies were found in one of the apartment blocks.
“And we’ve now discovered those are the bodies of a man, a woman and a teenage girl and a potentially very tragic scene has developed here over the last number of hours.
“This is a big shock to our city regardless of where these people are from, they are our citizens and we feel a deep sense of shock.”
It’s really shocking for this to happen in our city. It has taken a real kick in the stomach JUSTIN MCNULTY SDLP ASSEMBLY MEMBER, NEWRY, YESTERDAY