Gardaí in Limerick are treating the death of a 33-year-old Brazilian woman as a murder-suicide after the chief suspect’s body was also later found in Co Cork on Friday.
The body of Brazil native Jady Cristine Pereira Rosa was found in an apartment at Cecil Street in Limerick City at around 7.30am on Friday morning. The alarm had been raised by colleagues after she had failed to show up for work.
The force said in a statement on Monday afternoon that a male, also aged in his 30s, who was a person of interest and a line of enquiry in this investigation, has been found deceased.
The chief suspect has been named locally as Judismar Weslei Batista, also from Brazil, who is understood to have been in a long-term relationship with Rosa. Both are understood to have been sharing the apartment where Rosa was found dead.
Ms Pereira Rosa was originally from Sorocaba, a city in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, and had been living and working in Limerick for a number of years.
The State Pathologist performed a post-mortem which confirmed Ms Pereira Rosa died a violent death. It is understood she was stabbed to death, the Limerick Post reports.
Investigating Gardaí said they would not be releasing the results of the autopsy for “operational reasons.”
“An Garda Síochána is carrying out a murder investigation,” it confirmed in a statement, adding that it would continue to investigate all of the circumstances surrounding the death.
It is understood that Batista’s body was recovered near Blackrock Castle, Co Cork, at around 7pm on Friday evening – around 12 hours after Ms Rosa was discovered dead.
Ms Rosa worked as a cleaner in Limerick, where she had built up a close circle of friends. Her employer is said to be paying for the repatriation of her body to Brazil.
Her brother told the Irish Examiner that his sister was living the “Brazilian dream of living in Europe.”
“We are still in shock about what is happening. I never imagined that I would have to go through such an ordeal,” he said.
“She always helped everyone who was here in Brazil as much as she could. She never spared any effort to make my mother happy,” he said.
“She will be missed forever. Unfortunately, we didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye”.
A fundraiser has been set up by her loved ones to help with funeral costs in Brazil.
“Today we come together for a reason no one should ever have to face. Our dear Jady, a Brazilian who was living in Limerick, Ireland, had her life tragically taken,” a message posted by the fundraising page reads.
“In this moment of immense grief, we want to help her family give her the dignified farewell she deserves in her home country, surrounded by the people who love her.
“Jady’s employer will cover the cost of transporting her body from Ireland to Brazil. However, there are still important expenses that must be covered so she can be transported from the airport in São Paulo to her hometown, as well as the costs of her wake and burial.”