Death of woman at Roscommon home ‘unexplained’ following postmortem

Gardaí are treating the death of a mother of two in Co Roscommon at the weekend as “unexplained” after the results of a postmortem proved inconclusive.

The woman has been named locally as Martina Senturk (née Reynolds), a married mother of three from the Kilglass area.

The 35-year-old was found dead in her home just before 9am on Saturday, and gardaí suspected she had sustained a head injury.

However, how she suffered that injury and whether it played any role in her death remains undetermined.

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Garda sources said initial findings suggest the injury was relatively minor and would not normally be expected to cause death. They added the injury may have been caused by a trip and fall rather than an assault and that gardaí are keeping an open mind.

Gardaí are also awaiting the results of other elements of the postmortem process, including toxicology tests. Those results will inform the inquiry and may bring about a conclusive finding about how Ms Reynolds died.

The alarm was raised on Saturday morning after she was found unresponsive at her home, in a rural setting in Carrigeen, Kilglass. It is understood the dead woman’s young children were in the house at the time. Ms Reynolds, who worked as a midwife, was pronounced dead at the scene, which was immediately sealed off by gardaí.

Her remains underwent a preliminary examination in situ by a pathologist, before being removed for University Hospital Galway, where the postmortem was carried out on Sunday. The home was examined by Garda forensic experts at the weekend.

That examination was done in the event of the death being deemed a homicide. However, the death is being treated as “unexplained” at present, pending further information from the postmortem and any findings from the Garda investigation.

In reply to queries, Garda Headquarters said gardaí in Roscommon were continuing to “investigate all the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the body of a woman” in a private residence in Kilglass.

Independent councillor Tom Crosby said the news had sent “shock waves” though the local community, which was rallying around the woman’s immediate and extended family

“It’s a very close knit community and this is devastating for local people,” he said, adding the woman was from a large and well-known family who were “highly respected” locally.

“I would like to extend sincere condolences to the family and, please God, they will get the strength to get though this awful experience. It is so tragic.”