Garda∅ have said they are "greatly concerned" that the killer of an elderly nun, Sister Philomena Lyons (68), who was sexually assaulted and strangled at the weekend, is still at large.
They fear the attack on the nun was random and opportunistic and that there is a possibility that the killer could strike again. "There is no pattern to this. That's a matter of great concern for us", said Supt Tom Long, who is leading the murder investigation.
Sister Philomena was attacked in daylight as she waited for a bus at the entrance to St Joseph's Convent - where she resided - in Ballybay, Co Monaghan, shortly before 8.30 a.m. on Saturday.
She was accompanied to the convent entrance by another sister, who helped her with her bags before returning indoors. Several people also passed by the spot less than 10 minutes before the bus was due, giving the attacker just minutes to carry out the attack.
The attacker managed to overpower the sister, who was a member of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, and force her through a gate and down a lane at the side of the convent grounds. Here, he sexually assaulted and strangled her. It is believed that he then made his escape over a disused railway line at the back of the convent and out through adjoining fields.
Over 60 garda∅, including Assistant Commissioner Kevin Carty and detectives from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, were working on the case yesterday and questionnaires were distributed to homes and business premises in the town.
Garda forensic experts sealed off a house near the murder scene, where a man was reportedly seen early on Saturday, and a phone kiosk in the centre of the town, where a man was also reportedly seen acting suspiciously.
Supt Long appealed for help from the public in finding the killer. "I would appeal to anyone who may have seen something unusual on the Clones road or in Ballybay between 7 and 9 on Saturday morning to get in touch", he said.
Sister Philomena had been due to spend Saturday night at her order's convent in Blackrock, Co Dublin, where a party was planned for one of the sisters, before travelling on to her native Mallow in Co Cork, where she was to spend Christmas with some cousins and an elderly aunt.
The alarm was raised at 4.30 p.m. on Saturday when she had still not arrived in Blackrock. Local garda∅ found her body at 5.05 p.m. and a murder investigation was launched yesterday following a post-mortem examination by the Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy.
Sister Philomena's remains were returned to the convent last night and arrangements were being made for her burial in Ballybay later this week.