A MAN questioned about the unexplained death of a woman in a Kilkenny hospital last weekend has been released without charge.
Gardaí in Kilkenny said that the man who was arrested in Cahir, Co Tipperary, on Sunday evening was released in the early hours of yesterday morning. They have sent a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Supt Pat Mangan of Kilkenny Garda Station would only say the Garda investigation into the death of Lorraine White (42) is "ongoing".
Ms White, a mother of five, is believed to have suffered a serious sexual assault which caused "massive internal injuries".
She was admitted to St Luke's Hospital early on Saturday morning. She died some hours later while undergoing emergency surgery.
Supt Mangan said that Ms White's body had not yet been released to her family. Gardaí are awaiting the results of further tests and medical reports.
Ms White, a native of Wigan in northwest England, was living in the village of Callan in west Co Kilkenny. Her family said she had moved there with an Irishman whom she had met in Wigan.
She moved into a rented terraced house on Bridge Street in the centre of the village but he lived in a separate house two doors away. Both houses are still at the centre of Garda investigations.
A niece of Ms White's from Wigan who had been on holiday with her in Callan was yesterday escorted from her late aunt's house by gardaí.
Ms White's daughter and two granddaughters remain in Callan .
Speaking by telephone from Wigan, Kerry Harris, another niece of Ms White, said the family was very distressed about events.