A man who handed himself into a Garda station yesterday morning over the death of a woman at a house in Meath has been charged in connection with the fatal assault.
Mum-of-two Larisa Serban, 26, died at the home she rented at Rathmore, near Athboy, Meath, at around 5am.
The man walked into Drogheda Garda station around an hour later, claiming to have been involved in the incident.
He has been charged and will appear before Trim District Court at 4.30pm on Saturday.
Ambulance personnel and gardai rushed to the house on Friday, but despite their best efforts, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The suspect, in his 30s, who had presented himself to cops at the Co Louth station, was arrested and taken to Ashbourne Garda station, where he remained for questioning last night.
Both Ms Serban and the suspect are believed to be from Romania and are known to each other.
Gardai are establishing the exact circumstances surrounding the case.
A source said on Friday: “It’s very early in terms of knowing what led to this, but a man is in custody being questioned. The victim and the suspect knew each other.
“Obviously, finding the weapon is now a key part of the Garda investigation.”
The body of Ms Serban was removed from the house at 12pm Friday.
The Garda Technical Bureau had examined the scene beforehand. It is understood Ms Serban had been living in Ireland for over 10 years and had moved here with her mother from Romania.
She previously lived in Westmeath but had been renting the Rathmore house, where she had lived with her partner and kids, for around a year. A post mortem was taking place on her remains yesterday to establish the cause of death.
Locals did not know Ms Serban and believed she had been living in the area for only a short period.
One woman told us: “It’s stunned everyone. She was a young woman from what I heard but I didn’t know her.
“And the people I have talked to this morning didn’t know her either. So they couldn’t have been living there for too long.
“But as I said, it just shocked everyone when it hit the news this morning.” Although the suspect is being held in Ashbourne, the investigation is being led by gardai in Kells.
A spokesman confirmed: “A senior investigating officer has been appointed and an incident room established at Kells Garda Station.”
“Enquiries are ongoing. No further information is available at this time.”
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