Man in his 30s is charged in connection with murder of Ashling Murphy

Man in his 30s is charged in connection with murder of Ashling Murphy
Man in his 30s is charged in connection with murder of Ashling Murphy

A man will appear in court this evening in Ireland charged in connection with the murder of 23-year-old Ashling Murphy.

The man in his 30s, who was arrested on Tuesday, will appear before a special sitting of Tullamore District Court at 8.15pm.  

Police have not yet announced what he has been charged with. 

That man was being questioned in Tullamore, the town where Ashling was killed last week, as the main suspect in her death.

Earlier today, police made another arrest over the murder of Ms Murphy.

A man, in his 30s, is being held at a police station in the Eastern Region of Ireland on suspicion of withholding information from police.

Ashling Murphy was killed last Wednesday. The 23-year-old teacher's funeral took place today and was attended by large crowds who congregated outside the church in Tullamore

Ashling Murphy as a child in a photo displayed by her family at her funeral

Ashling Murphy, 23 (left and right, as a child), was killed on the afternoon of January 12 as she went for a jog in the town of Tullamore. Two men have now been arrested over the killing

Police are now holding two men on suspicion of involvement in the crime, having wrongly arrested a third who has been released

Police are now holding two men on suspicion of involvement in the crime, having wrongly arrested a third who has been released

Ashling was strangled to death as she jogged along a canal path in Tullamore on the evening of January 12, with her body found on the path the same day.

Police say the 23-year-old, a primary school teacher and talented musician, tried to fight off her attacker using a set of keys before being killed. 

Officers arrested 39-year-old Romanian Radu Floricel the same day - though later released him and said he is no longer suspected of involvement.

Detectives then put out an appeal for information including to hospitals, with doctors told to look out for anyone arriving with 'suspicious' injuries.

That led them to a ward in Dublin, where a man had checked in Thursday with stab wounds he claimed were inflicted in a fight in the west of the city.

Officers, who believe some of the wounds were self inflicted, questioned the man - and on Tuesday arrested him as their main suspect.

Ms Murphy came from a highly respected family in the local area that is well known in the music scene, and live outside Tullamore

Ms Murphy came from a highly respected family in the local area that is well known in the music scene, and live outside Tullamore

The arrest came the same day as Ashling's funeral, with her heartbroken boyfriend, Ryan Casey, telling mourners at her graveside that Ashling 'is the greatest love of my life'. 

He said: 'I will cherish the last five years we spent together for my entire life. I hope that some day, God willing, we can be reunited once more and continue the great plans we had made for each other. 

'Goodbye for now, but not for ever, darling. Ashling shall live on in all of our hearts.'  

Police said they had not intended to make the arrest on the day of the funeral, but that their hand was forced because the man was about to be discharged from hospital and they were afraid of losing him.

Prior to his arrest, the man had spent five nights in Dublin being treated for injuries to his hands and face - some of which police suspect were self-inflicted.

A relative brought the man to hospital last week for treatment to stab wounds that he claimed to have sustained in a fight in west Dublin. Police were then alerted after warning hospitals to be on the look-out for anyone arriving with 'suspicious' wounds.

He was admitted and was treated by doctors, before being taken into police custody as he was discharged and driven to Tullamore police station, where he remains.

As detectives question the man, officers continue to gather evidence to build their case and are thought to be taking DNA samples from the suspect to see if it matches DNA found at the scene of the attack.

It comes after police revealed Ashling may have used a set of keys to try and fight off her attacker, before being killed.

Officers are also thought to have seized cars and phones linked to the suspect, as well as carrying out searches of his home.

Detectives are still looking for a knife used in Ashling's murder, and have searched the canal where she died and seized a nearby bottle bank where they suspect it may have been hidden.  

Mourners walked beside the hearse carrying the coffin of Ashling Murphy as the cortege arrived for her funeral at St. Brigid's Church

Mourners walked beside the hearse carrying the coffin of Ashling Murphy as the cortege arrived

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