Man arrested over wife’s murder tells gardaí someone else killed her at home
A 32-YEAR-OLD man who has been twice arrested in relation to the murder of his wife has told investigating officers that someone else killed the tragic woman at his home.
The body of Natalia Karaczyn (30) was recovered near Lough Gill, Co Sligo, shortly after 10am on Tuesday following a large-scale search effort by local gardaí.
The young mother had been strangled to death.
Her husband Rafal Karaczyn (32) was arrested for a second time on Tuesday morning by gardaí investigating the disappearance and then the death of his wife.
He remained in custody last night and is expected to appear before court this morning charged in relation to his wife’s death.
Gardaí have been frantically establishing if there may have been any ‘third-party’ involvement in the murder, since early yesterday.
Mr Karaczyn is understood to have previously given officers detailed information about where they may find tragic Natalia.
Both the murder victim and her husband are members of the Polish community.
The mother of three had been missing for more than 48 hours after returning to her home in Crozon Park on Sunday morning after a night out with friends.
Her husband was initially arrested later that evening while his wife was still missing.
He was held for more than 24 hours for questioning before being released without charge after 5am on Tuesday.
However, it is understood that he was contacted by associates of his late wife, who persuaded him to return to gardaí.
Mr Karaczyn was then re-arrested by gardaí.
Passion
Shortly after 10am, the body of a woman, since identified as Ms Karaczyn, was recovered near Lough Gill, which is more than 2km from where she was last seen.
Detectives believe that she may have been killed in a “crime of passion”.
As part of the investigation, gardaí gathered CCTV footage from properties and businesses near Crozon Park.
According to her family, footage from a pub near their home shows Ms Karaczyn walking along the road at 6.30am on Sunday.
Separate images from a neighbour’s property show a vehicle leaving the Crozon Park area that same morning, before returning a short time later.
This vehicle was seized on Tuesday afternoon by gardaí and was still being examined last night.
On Monday, Ms Karaczyn’s family made a heartfelt plea for information on her disappearance.
Ms Karaczyn’s sister Magdalena McMorrow wrote on social media: “My sister Natalia went out last night [Saturday] and has not come back. Please, if you have any information, seen her, or maybe have CCTV outside your house in the area, get in touch with Sligo garda station or myself.”
The investigation is being led by gardaí at Ballymote.
Body
Chief Superintendent Aidan Glackin, of the Sligo/Leitrim Garda division, previously said that the Garda investigation was still “live” following the discovery of the body.
“As you are aware, this find comes from the reporting of a missing young lady to us on Sunday morning,” Chief Supt Glackin told reporters at the scene on Holywell Road.
“We have worked earnestly with the community in Sligo to try to find that person.
“As I said, we’ve got great help from the community and this has led to this discovery here today.”
He also thanked the local community for their help throughout the investigation into Ms Karaczyn’s disappearance.
“The investigation is still very live but I do want to reiterate that there are sensitivities here, there’s privacies that need to be afforded to the families that are involved.
“I want to thank the community in Sligo for great assistance we’ve got and I can’t stress that enough.”