A young woman “lived for her daughter” after being “beaten to death” in her own home a week before Christmas.
Paula Lawlor, 32, is suspected of being viciously attacked by a man she knows at her home in Baile Eoghain, County Wexford, approximately 3 a.m. on Thursday.
A man was apprehended this morning at the location. Neighbors expressed horror at the killing, describing how Ms Lawlor lived for her kid.
“She absolutely lived for her 13-year-old daughter,” a neighbor and friend, Emma Weekes, told the Irish Mirror. “Her parents had regrettably died, and she has no siblings.
“Fortunately, her daughter was not home at the time of the occurrence. I didn’t hear anything until this morning, when we went outside and saw the soldiers.”
Ms Lawlor was also described as “bubbly” by neighbors Robert O’Regan and Aisling Conlon, who said she frequently stopped for a talk when driving her daughter to school in the morning.
“She was always walking in and out and she was just bubbly and loved to chat,” Emma told me. “She was just an ordinary girl, really. We’re all astonished, to be honest.”
A man in his 30s has been arrested in connection with the event and is being held at a Garda station in the Eastern Region under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984.
A post-mortem examination is scheduled to take place soon. A family liaison officer (FLO) has also been assigned to assist the family.
Local Councillor Craig Doyle said: “It’s a tremendous tragedy when anything like this happens in the community, especially so close to Christmas. It is extremely traumatic for the families affected and the community.”
Local Fine Gael Councillor Anthony Donohoe added: “Given the time of year, it exacerbates misery for the families left behind.”
According to a Garda statement, an unresponsive woman was discovered at a property in Baile Eoghain, Gorey, shortly after 3 a.m.She was pronounced dead at the spot.”
