Gardaí investigating the murder of Siobhán Kearney in south Dublin last week say they are confident information received from members of the public will help them to bring her killer to justice.
The investigation is focusing on the movements of the chief suspect at the time of the killing last Tuesday week. Gardaí have also received information as to the movements of at least one person seen outside the house at about the time of the killing.
These have been tested against the alibi of the chief suspect and gardaí believe they have identified a number of discrepancies which may prove vital.
Gardaí have also received information as to the movements of a vehicle they believe was used by the chief suspect on the morning of the killing.
Ms Kearney's body was discovered in the bedroom of a house at Knocknashee, Goatstown, Dublin, on the morning of January 31st. Gardaí were alerted by a relative who had arrived to visit her.
Her three-year-old son Dan was in the house at the time.
Ms Kearney (38) had been strangled with a flex from a vacuum cleaner. She had been locked into the upstairs bedroom and gardaí believe the scene was altered to make it appear as if she had taken her own life.
Two days ago, a week after the killing, gardaí set up early morning checkpoints around the Knocknashee estate in an effort to question local people who had been in the area a week earlier and who may have noticed something. Follow-up house-to-house inquiries have also been conducted.
One senior Garda source said the investigation team was "very happy" with the nature and the quality of information gathered.
The investigation is complicated by the fact that the murder suspect had been at the house before and could claim that any of his DNA found there was left during previous visits.
The technical examination of the house has concentrated on trying to place the chief suspect at the scene either during the murder or after it. Any traces of his DNA found on Ms Cleary's body would add weight to the theory that he was at the scene when she was murdered. The results of a series of forensic tests in relation to that are awaited. Gardaí have already arrested and questioned the man, who was known to her, about Ms Kearney's murder. He was arrested last Thursday morning, two days after the murder. He was questioned at Dundrum Garda station but was released without charge late on Thursday night.
Because a firearm was not used, gardaí were obliged to arrest the suspect under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, which allows for a maximum period of detention of 12 hours.
The Irish Times understands gardaí were frustrated by the brief period of detention when questioning him and that while he answered most questions put to him, he exercised his right to silence in relation to some questions. He supplied minimal information in response to others.
If a firearm had been used, he could have been arrested under section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act and detained for up to 72 hours without charge. Detectives will now be required to produce new evidence in the case before he can be arrested again for a second 12-hour period of questioning.
Ms Kearney and her husband Brian owned a small upmarket hotel in the remote Sóller region of Majorca.
They bought it in late 2002 and opened it in early 2003. In recent years they had lived in Ireland in the winter, spending the tourist season working at the hotel.
