Image copyright RTE Image caption Irish Defence Forces are among more than 200 officials involved in the search

A woman whose body was cut up and dispersed in mountains south of Dublin has been named locally as Patricia O'Connor.

A 32-year-old man is being questioned in connection with her death.

Ms O'Connor's remains, including her head and hands which were found in a bag, were discovered in eight places, Irish broadcaster RTÉ reported.

Gardaí (Irish police) are investigating whether the murder is linked to a personal dispute.

Detectives believe the victim, who was in her 50s and from Rathfarnham in southern Dublin, was killed in the city.

Gardaí also believe she was killed at a house in Rathfarnham at the end of May after being struck with a blunt instrument during a row.

She was reported missing on 2 June.

Shallow grave

Detectives believe her remains were dismembered in a field outside Kilmuckridge in County Wexford, 130km (80 miles) south of Dublin, and buried in a shallow grave, RTÉ reported.

It is understood that while some body parts have been discovered in that field, detectives believe the killer came back two days later, disinterred and dismembered the rest of the body.

Gardaí believe the killer then drove back to Dublin through the Wicklow Mountains dispersing the victim's remains along 20km of the Military Road route, which crosses the mountains.

Image copyright RTE Image caption Supt Pat Ward said significant finds were made at various locations on Tuesday

A 32-year-old man subsequently presented himself to police, was arrested and is being questioned at Bray Garda Station in County Wicklow, 12 miles south of Dublin, where he can be questioned for up to 24 hours.

Two new crime scenes were sealed off in Dublin and Wexford on Wednesday.

The search of the Wicklow mountains continued on Wednesday as more than 200 gardaí and Irish soldiers continued to look for evidence and human remains.

Eight locations remain sealed off there.

Garda Supt Pat Ward, described the unprecedented case as "troubling".

"We are conscious of the fact that the body found is that of a loved one," he said.

"What we have found are limbs, we've also found some significant parts of the torso and we've also found in one of the locations, in a bag, the head and the hands of the deceased."</s>The woman whose remains were found in the Wicklow Mountains has been named locally as Patricia OConnor



Its believed the mother in her 60s was killed in Rathfarnham in South Dublin and her body parts scattered.



A man in his 30s is being questioned about her murder.



This local woman lived close to the victim.

More body parts could be found in the Wicklow mountains over the coming days.

A search is continuing there this afternoon.

The woman's head was found yesterday, but her remains have been scattered over a wide area.</s>Gardaí are continuing to question a man in relation to the death of Patricia O’Connor (61) after the woman’s dismembered remains were found scattered over a Wicklow roadside.

The 32-year-old man presented himself to Rathfarnham Garda station on Monday but was released as investigating gardaí in Bray believed the torso found dumped in a plastic bag on Saturday was male.

However, when the State Pathologist’s Office confirmed the victim was female on Tuesday and Ms O’Connor’s head was found, the suspect then became crucial to the inquiry.

He told the Garda he had dismembered Ms O’Connor, a mother and grandmother, in a field in Co Wexford and had made a crude attempt to bury her there before taking the remains away and scattering them over a 30km stretch of road in Co Wicklow.

The suspect took gardaí to the field in Co Wexford on Tuesday and when clear physical evidence, including blood, hair and signs of digging the earth were found, the man was arrested.

He has been detained since then for questioning in connection with the murder.

The woman was beaten to death with a hurl in her Mountain View Park home in Rathfarnham home almost two weeks ago.

The man being questioned is believed to have also lived there and it is understood there were existing tensions in the family surrounding ownership of the house.

Gardaí believe the suspect and Ms O’Connor were part of a close family-based group that had spent a lot of time together in recent years.

The deceased woman, who was estranged from her husband, left Dublin for the UK for a period and then returned to live in Ireland last year.

Detectives are working on the theory that when Ms O’Connor’s attacker killed her he panicked and did not know how to dispose of the body.

Detectives suspect her killing may have been a spur of the moment incident and during the course of an argument.

Gardaí believe her killer then drove his vehicle with Ms O’Connor’s remains inside to Kilmuckridge, Co Wexford, where she was dismembered and partially buried in a field.

The man appears to have left the remains in the field before returning and exhuming the body parts from the earth and throwing them from his vehicle on the drive back to Dublin via Wicklow.

On Saturday people out walking found the large part of a torso and a huge search operation commenced.

It is ongoing and so far remains have been found in 10 locations; including Ms O’Connor’s hands and head in plastic bags.

Ms O’Connor worked as a chef at Mount Carmel Hospital in Churchtown.</s>A 32 year old man has appeared in court in the past few minutes charged with the murder of a woman whose remains were found in the Wicklow Mountains.

The body parts of Patricia O’Connor – a grandmother in her 60s – were found scattered along a 20 to 30km stretch of the mountains.

This afternoon Kieran Green of Mountain View Park in Churchtown, Dublin appeared before Tallaght District Court charged with her murder.

The court heard he was charged at Bray Garda station at 11.28 this morning and replied ‘it was self defence’.

He was remanded in custody.</s>Gardaí believe Patricia O’Connor, the woman whose dismembered remains have been found scattered over a Wicklow roadside, was killed as part of a long-running dispute.

A 32-year-old man who was known to the deceased was still being questioned about the killing last night. He is the only suspect and presented himself to gardaí.

It was initially believed he was a crank because in the first days of the investigation, as body parts were being found and the deceased had not been identified, gardaí believed the victim was a man aged 25 years or older.

The suspect was not believed when he claimed he was behind the violent death and that the victim was a 61-year-old woman he was related to.

However, when the State Pathologist’s Office confirmed the victim was female on Tuesday and Ms O’Connor’s head was found, the suspect then became crucial to the inquiry.

He told the Garda he had dismembered Ms O’Connor, a mother and grandmother, in a field in Wexford and had made a crude attempt to bury her there before taking the remains away and scattering them over a 30km stretch of road in Co Wicklow.

The suspect took the Garda to the field in Wexford on Tuesday and when clear physical evidence, including blood, hair and signs of digging the earth were found, the man was arrested.

He has been detained since then for questioning in connection with the murder. The 24 hours gardaí could detain him for was due to expire in the early hours of Thursday morning and charges were expected to be brought in the case.

Gardaí believe the suspect and the Ms O’Connor were part of a close family-based group that had spent a lot of time together in recent years.

The deceased woman, who was estranged from her husband, left Dublin for the UK for a period and then returned to live in Ireland last year.

It is believed Ms O’Connor’s death, as a result of blows to the head sustained during a violent assault, was the result of long-running tensions coming to a climax.

Detectives are working on the theory that when Ms O’Connor’s attacker killed her he panicked and did not know how to dispose of the body.

She died in her house in Rathfarnham, where she had lived on and off for years. Detectives suspect her killing may have been a spur of the moment incident and during the course of an argument.

Gardaí believe her killer then drove his vehicle with Ms O’Connor’s remains inside to Kilmuckridge, Co Wexford, where she was dismembered and partially buried in a field.

The man appears to have left the remains in the field before returning and exhuming the body parts from the earth and throwing them from his vehicle on the drive back to Dublin via Wicklow.

On Saturday people out walking found the large part of a torso and a huge search operation commenced. It is ongoing and so far remains have been found in 10 locations; including Ms O’Connor’s hands and head in plastic bags.

Ms O’Connor worked as a chef at Mount Carmel Hospital in Churchtown.

From Mountain View Park in Rathfarnham, she was described on Wednesday night by neighbours as a “lovely person”. It is believed she was not living in the Rathfarnham address, but visited the property very regularly.

One resident on the street, who lived opposite the O’Connor’s, said they were a normal family.

“We’d know everyone around here, we’d all be very familiar with each other,” she said. “She hadn’t lived in the house for about 10 years so I wouldn’t be as familiar with her. It’s a small street, usually full of kids playing, but it’s quiet out today. It’s just a shocking thing to happen.”

Throughout yesterday, gardaí called in to various residents on the street looking to see if any neighbours had information about the family.

Another neighbour, a father of a young family who lived directly across the road from the O’Connor’s home, said the house was always lively and full of children playing in the garden.

“They were a normal family. She had plenty of grandchildren. I wouldn’t have been as familiar with her now, but I was shocked when I heard everything.”</s>Gardaí are investigating whether the 61-year-old grandmother whose remains were found at several locations in the Wicklow mountains was hit over the head with a blunt instrument in her Dublin home and an attempt was made to bury her before she was dismembered.

Patricia O’Connor was from the Rathfarnham area of South Dublin and had worked as a chef in the now closed private maternity hospital, Mount Carmel.

She had been reported missing from her home on June 2.

Gardaí believe that she died as a result of a blow to her head with a blunt object during a row with a male relative before her body was dismembered and discarded around the Co Wicklow area.

A 32-year-old man presented himself to Wexford Garda Station on Tuesday, where he was later arrested. He was being detained in Bray Garda Station last night.

It is understood that Ms O’Connor died in her Rathfarnham home and was then transferred to a car where an attempt was made to bury her in a shallow grave in Co Wexford.

There are now at least eight crime scenes being investigated by gardaí, in locations in Dublin, Wexford and Wicklow.

One theory being investigated is that Ms O’Connor was buried with her body relatively intact, however, the killer panicked and dug up her remains in order to dismember them and later discard them.

Wexford Chief Supt John Roche said a scene has been preserved in a rural area in the county.

“It’s a rural area between Kilmuckridge and Blackwater,” he said.

“Right now, we’re waiting on a team from the technical bureau to begin searching the surrounding area.

“The scene we have is quite contained, so we will be searching it ourselves.”

Local independent councillor, Mary Farrell said it was the “most horrific crime” that the area had ever witnessed.

Over 200 gardaí and Defence Forces employees are involved in the large-scale search investigation, including members of the Garda Water Unit and Dog Unit.

Following the discovery of the torso by hikers last Saturday evening, the biggest breakthrough was locating a human head on Tuesday afternoon, approximately 3km north of Glenmacnass waterfall, which is on the Military Road in Co Wicklow.

Further remains, including an arm, were located later in the afternoon.

A partial torso, a leg, a backbone and internal organs were then recovered as part of the investigation.

Describing the “gruesome” discoveries, Bray Superintendent Pat Ward said he was conscious the remains were those of a “loved one.”</s>A MAN charged with the murder of 61-year-old woman whose dismembered body was found in Ireland has claimed self defence.



Kieran Green, 32, with an address in Mountain View Park in Rathfarnham, Dublin, is charged with the murder of Patricia O’Connor.

Ms O’Connor was reported missing from her Rathfarnham home on June 2.

Her remains were found in several locations across the Wicklow mountains close to Glenmacnas waterfall, a scenic spot popular with tourists.

The initial find was by a member of the public while they were out walking on June 10.

Gardaí later found her limbs, torso and a bag containing her hands and head.

Kieran Green was arrested at Bray Garda Station and appeared at Tallaght District Court this afternoon, June 15, charged with her murder, according to .

Detective Garda Conlon told the court that when he was charged with the murder of Ms O’Connor at 11.28am this morning, he said “it was self defence.”

Justice Patricia McNamara said due to the seriousness of the charge there was no question of bail.

She remanded the accused in custody to appear by videolink at Clover Hill District Court at 10am next Thursday, June 22.

She asked about legal aid and the accused’s solicitor Patrick McNiece said his client was on social welfare and has an adult and four children as dependents.

He said his only request for his client was that he would receive a medical assessment in custody and be given any medical assistance required.</s>Gardai believe the body of Patricia O’Connor was buried in a shallow grave in a field near Wexford’s east coast for two days.

The field of corn is adjacent to the road that runs between Blackwater and Kilmuckridge.

The sixty one year old grandmother from Rathfarnham Dublin was reported missing on June 2nd.

A man continues to be held for questioning in relation to her disappearance at Bray Garda Station.

Gardai believe her body was taken from the field and dismembered and thrown in three locations in the Wicklow mountains.

The site at Blackwater, the woman’s home in Dublin and a number of sites in Wicklow continue to be sealed off as Gardai continue their forensic investigations.</s>A man has appeared in court charged with murdering a woman whose dismembered body was found dispersed across the Wicklow Mountains.

Kieran Green was remanded in custody for one week following a brief hearing at Tallaght District Court in Dublin, the Courts Service said.

He is accused of murdering Patricia O'Connor, 61, from Rathfarnham on May 29 or 30 on Mountain View Park in Churchtown in the south of the city.

The grandmother was reported missing almost two weeks ago.

Green, 32 and from Mountain View Park, Churchtown, was remanded in custody by Judge Patricia McNamara until next Thursday when he is due to appear before Cloverhill District Court.

Ms O'Connor's body was dismembered and dispersed across parts of rural Co Wicklow.

Her remains were recovered over several days along a 20km to 30km stretch of the Old Military Road with the first gruesome discovery made last Saturday evening by a group of people near Glencree Peace and Reconciliation Centre.

Limbs and other parts of the torso were found in other locations, including discoveries at Glenmacnass waterfall and at Lough Brea Lower on Military Road, south of Glencree.

Ms O'Connor's head and hands were found in a plastic bag.</s>GardaÃ­ are continuing to question a man in connection with the murder of Patricia O'Connor.

Ms O'Connor's remains have been found in a number of locations in the Wicklow Mountains after being murdered in Dublin.

GardaÃ­ have sealed off sites in Wicklow, Dublin and Wexford in connection with the grandmother's death.
The woman whose remains were found scattered along the Military Road in Wicklow, Ireland was named locally today as Patricia O'Connor, a 61 year old from Rathfarnham. A man was arrested in connection with this on Tuesday.