THREE PEOPLE remained in Garda custody last night after their arrest yesterday morning over the 1993 murder of Portlaoise woman Marie Kilmartin.
The arrests follow recent activity by the Garda's cold case review team and local officers.
Two men and a woman were arrested at 7am. A man in his 60s is being held at Portlaoise Garda station under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act while another man, aged 42, and a woman in her 60s are both being held in Tullamore Garda station, charged with withholding information.
Ms Kilmartin went missing in 1993. She was last seen alive on the morning of December 17th, 1993, in the Laois shopping centre in Portlaoise.
The search for her turned into a murder hunt when her body was discovered in a bog between Mountmellick and Portarlington on June 10th, 1994.
All the Garda evidence in 1994 pointed to a strong local dimension to the crime. Gardaí were of the opinion that the isolated drain where Ms Kilmartin's body was found was "consistent with local knowledge".
The then Chief Supt John O'Brien was quoted in local media as saying: "We believe there are a number of individuals who have in their possession information surrounding her disappearance and death. We are making a direct appeal to those people to come forward, with full confidentiality."
Three years ago Crimestoppers offered a substantial cash reward for information leading to the identification and prosecution of the perpetrators. A team of gardaí took to the streets of the town in November 2005 handing our circulars in an attempt to jog people's memories on the events that led to Ms Kilmartin's death.