Neighbours of the Dublin woman who was killed in a brutal attack early yesterday were in deep shock. Ms Lisa Bell lived in a second-storey flat in St Teresa's Gardens on the fringes of Dublin's south inner city.
Neighbours described the 22-year-old single mother as shy and reclusive.
As word of her violent death spread yesterday, many admitted they couldn't even recall her name or place her face.
Ms Bell's body was found locked in her living-room cupboard.
Community worker Mr Christy Fahey spoke of a retiring outsider who spent most of time indoors, looking after her two-year-old baby daughter.
"Everyone has been asking about her this morning. The truth is that we didn't know an awful lot.
"She wasn't a local. She moved in a few months ago and kept to herself.
"She was very polite but didn't have much to do with anyone else," he said.
Ms Bernie Fitzgerald, who lives in the tower block opposite Ms Bell's flat said: "It's an awful shock obviously. She seemed like a nice girl. Very quiet. Absolutely harmless. Now her daughter will have to grow up without a mother. It's hear-breaking," she said.
"We're a very close community here. People look out for one another . . .
"We had no idea that she might have been in any kind of danger," Ms Fitzgerald said.
Garda∅ discovered Ms Bell's body shortly after 9 p.m. on Sunday. She had been beaten about the chest and head and her throat cut with a knife.
The alarm was raised by her father, who had not heard from her since mid-afternoon.
Ms Bell's body was removed to the city morgue in Marino early yesterday where the Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, carried out a post-mortem.