THE investigation into the murder of the Dublin civil servant, Marilyn Rynn, has taken a new direction, with gardai seeking to interview a man who has been receiving psychiatric treatment since Christmas.
It is understood that the man, who was known to Ms Rynn, was admitted to an institution early in the new year.
The man is not the same person whose photofit image was shown on television last Monday night. This man, who was believed to have been on a late-night bus on which Ms Rynn travelled on the night of her murder, contacted gardai immediately after the programme and is not a suspect.
Gardai are understood to have become aware recently that Ms Rynn had known a man from north-west Dublin who is now under psychiatric care. It is unclear if they can interview the man so long as he is in an institution.
The case has been one of the most detailed and"difficult murder investigations in Dublin in years. DNA testing has become central to the investigation as a sample of semen was recovered from Ms Rynn's body, even though her body had lain in undergrowth in a park near her (home for two weeks after her murder.
More than 100 DNA samples were taken from men with records of sexual assault in Dublin and who were at liberty at the time of the murder. None of these is understood to have so far, matched the sample taken from Ms Rynn.
After the elimination of the men with sexual assault records, gardai relaunched the investigation. Detectives are understood to have then become aware that Ms Rynn had known a man who sought treatment in an institution in the new year.
On the night of December 21st-22nd Ms Rynn had been at a staff party with colleagues from the Central Statistics Office at the Shieling Hotel in Raheny. She took a taxi to central Dublin and, then caught a NiteLink bus home to Blanchardstown.
She was reported missing to gardai by her family on St Stephen's Day. A search of parkland near Ms Rynn's home was mounted on the morning of Sunday, January 7th, and her naked body was found there.