The sister of Linda Christian, the missing woman whose badly decomposed remains were found in west Dublin earlier this week, has paid tribute to her.
Ms Christian (29), who Garda sources have described as vulnerable, was last seen in Blanchardstown on June 24th.
Gardaí and her family feared the worst when nothing was heard from her over a number of days.
On Monday a Garda search team combed an area of the Coolmine Woods after an increasingly foul smell was reported by many locals. They found a woman's badly decomposed remains during the exercise.
The remains were later confirmed as those of Ms Christian. A postmortem was inconclusive but gardaí strongly suspect she was unlawfully killed.
Detectives are trying to trace an Eastern European man Ms Christian was close to. They believe the man can aid their inquiry.
Ms Christian was adopted as a toddler and the Garda has said she was “a troubled woman”.
Her sister, Nikki Christian, paid tribute to her younger sibling on social media.
“Linda, you came to us with only a crawl; a small bundle of joy to all,” she wrote. “You filled our lives with happiness and laughter mixed with heartache and anger...We used to joke and talk about how you would throw a wobbler and have everyone in wonder.”
‘Drifted’
She added: “Through thick and thin I was always there to show you how I care. But life has not been fair to you dear sis...Born with a predestined illness that took hold and made you act out so bold, you drifted in and out but were always welcome. But today you’re in heaven with our dad watching down on us watching over mam.”
Gardaí believe Linda Christian was murdered four weeks ago and her body lay undiscovered between June 24th or 25th and last Monday; a period of almost four weeks.
Gardaí issued a public appeal for information on her whereabouts not long after she disappeared.
Last weekend the Garda renewed that appeal, saying the Christian family were “very concerned for her welfare”.
When the remains were found on Monday in Coolmine Woods, the Garda applied all of the resources of a murder inquiry to the case.
Coolmine Woods is located between Clonsilla Road and Snugborough Road in Blanchardstown. It is a popular walking spot and is used as a shortcut by people living in the locality.
Speaking at Blanchardstown Garda station on Wednesday, Supt William Carolan appealed for anyone with information about the case to come forward.
He described Linda Christian as being 5ft 3in tall and of slim build with long brown hair and green eyes. She was wearing a green bomber jacket, blue jeans and carrying a pink gym bag when last seen on June 24th.
