A 38-YEAR-OLD WOMAN, who was brutally murdered and her body stuffed in a wardrobe in a south Dublin house, has been named.
Joanne Lee had been reported missing earlier this week and was found bound in a sleeping bag and hidden in a wardrobe by gardai in a flat on Ranelagh Road, south Dublin at 3.45 pm yesterday.
Gardai believe she may have been suffocated or strangled by her killer.
As gardai entered the house, a man jumped from the third-floor balcony of the flat.
He suffered a broken arm and leg injuries after the jump and is understood to be well known to Ms Lee.
A garda at the scene removed his own shirt to stem the blood flow from the man’s wounds after he jumped from the upstairs window until emergency crews from Dublin Fire Brigade reached the scene.
The suspect, who was being treated at St Vincent’s Hospital last night, is reported to have told investigating officers last night that he “had to kill” Ms Lee.
Detectives are investigating if Ms Lee was murdered at a different location on St Valentine’s Day. The killer may have been planning to transport her body before she was found.
Ms Lee was originally from the Coolock area of the capital’s northside but had been living with her family in Ashbourne, Co. Meath.
They had reported her missing having not heard from her since Tuesday of this week.
They contacted gardaí, who in turn issued a public 'missing person's appeal' late on Wednesday night, stating that Ms Lee had last been seen in the area policed by Mountjoy gardaí on the capital's northside on Tuesday.
Sources say gardaí tried to get into the flat yesterday afternoon after her car was found on the road outside the property some hours after the appeal was issued.
The suspect is believed to have refused officers entry to the house before jumping from the upstairs window.
Garda cordons closed off the building on Ranelagh Road last night, as residents in the building - which comprises a number of flats - were moved into a nearby hotel for accommodation.
