The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Police ‘make progress’ in murder probe
Irish police investigating the death of Ashling Murphy have renewed an appeal for information, saying “significant progress” has been made in the murder probe.
It comes as police released the description of a man they want to speak to in relation to the 23-yearold’s murder in Co Offaly.
Ms Murphy was found dead after going for a run on the banks of the Grand Canal in Tullamore.
The murder has caused widespread anger and shock in Ireland and beyond, with tens of thousands of people attending vigils in recent days.
Police have asked anyone who saw a man dressed in black tracksuit top with no hood, black tracksuit bottoms with a large white stripe or white writing on the side and black runners to come forward.
Officers have asked members of the public whether they saw this man walking in the Tullamore area, or if they gave the
man a lift on the evening last Wednesday.
The investigation into the teacher’s murder continued yesterday as officers examined the scene at the canal bank at Cappincur.
Police said that “significant progress” is being made, but would not confirm any specific details.
It comes as they identified a new person of interest, who is believed to be in hospital in the Dublin region receiving treatment, and are waiting to speak to him.
A complaint from another woman, who said she was followed on the same canal path hours before the murder, is still being investigated.
Gardai remained at the scene yesterday to carry out further investigations of the area.
Earlier, campaigners demanded more to be done to tackle domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence in Ireland in the wake of Ms Murphy’s murder.
Mary Mcdermott, chief executive officer at Safe Ireland, which campaigns for women and children’s safety, said the country does not have a minister with full responsibility for gender-based and domestic violence, saying it is “scattered” across various government departments.
Over the weekend, Minister for Justice Helen Mcentee said a new government strategy to tackle domestic, sexual and gender-based violence will be published by the start of March.
It would, she said, take a “zero-tolerance” approach to violence against women.