A man has been arrested on suspicion of Ashling Murphy’s murder
The 23-year-old teacher was killed on 12th January
Hannah Van De PeerA second arrest has been made in the case of murdered 23-year-old Ashling Murphy, who was killed in a seemingly random attack last Wednesday.
Police investigating the death have arrested a man in his 30s on suspicion of murder.
They earlier confirmed DNA evidence was found at the scene.
Photo via Twitter
A source told The Mirror: “her attempts to defend herself resulted in us having the attacker’s DNA.
“She fought him. That will be crucial.”
This comes after the Gardaí (Irish police) stated they wouldn’t be releasing details of Ashling’s postmortem to the general public, so her actual cause of death isn’t widely known. A 40-year-old man was arrested shortly after the murder, but he was later released.
There are currently no further details surrounding the identity of the suspect.
The primary school teacher and musician was jogging in County Offaly during the afternoon of Wednesday 12th January. A man – not believed to have been known to Ashling – then beat her to death at 4PM. Despite efforts to save her, she died at the scene.
Vigils have been held around London and Ireland in mourning. The murder has reignited the conversation surrounding gender-based violence.
The hashtag “#SheWasGoingForARun” has caused several debates around the future of women’s safety, and general public attitudes towards systemic sexism.
Photo via Twitter
Ashling Murphy was a well-loved class teacher at Durrow National School. She taught 28 pupils, all aged six and seven. She’d joined in March 2021.
Her headteacher described her as “fantastic, beautiful, and extraordinary sportsperson, Irish musician, choral conductor and inspiration.”
She was widely known within the Irish traditional music scene, having been a member of the Comhaltas National Folk Orchestra since 2017.