Second man arrested after murder of primary school teacher Ashling Murphy
A second man has been arrested in connection to the killing of Ashling Murphy, 23.
The primary school teacher’s body was found on the banks of a canal last Wednesday after she went for a jog in Tullamore.
A man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of murder on Tuesday, shortly after huge crowds gathered for a funeral in the village of Mountbolus.
A second man has now been detained in the eastern part of Ireland for questioning in relation to potential withholding of information, police announced today.
The case has sent shockwaves around the community, with calls for more action to be taken over violence against women.
Ashling has been described by her heartbroken boyfriend as an ‘incredible, loving and beautiful person we were all so lucky to know’.
Ryan Casey said: ‘Ashling was so much more to me than a girlfriend, she was my soulmate, she is my soulmate, she will always be my soulmate.
‘She is the greatest love of my life. I will cherish the last five years we spent together my entire life.’
Young children taught by Ashling held up photographs of her as they formed a touching guard of honour at the memorial service yesterday.
The Irish president, Michael D Higgins, the taoiseach, Micheál Martin, and the justice minister, Helen McEntee, attended alongside Ashling’s parents, her siblings and Ryan.
Mourners were told a ‘depraved act of violence had taken the life’ of the talented musician.
Tom Deenihan, the bishop of Meath, said nobody should die like she did and ‘no family like Ashling’s should suffer as they do now’.
Tens of thousands of people across Ireland have also attended vigils to honour the young teacher over the past few days.
In the wake of the tragedy, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has warned there is a culture that has created an epidemic of attacks on women.
He said: ‘This is something that men and women alike need to combat together. And I think for men in particular, we need to make sure that we understand, and that we teach our boys that violence against women is never justified.
‘It doesn’t matter who she is, it doesn’t matter where it was, it doesn’t matter what time of day it is. It’s never justified. It’s always wrong.’
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