A decomposing woman’s body was found in a house in Cork City yesterday afternoon. 

The property was located in a residential area called Brookfield Lawn in the Lough on the Southside of the city. 

Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast, Irish Independent Southern Correspondent Ralph Riegel described it as a “shocking” discovery. 

“[It] was made by a local pest control company that was investigating a pest control problem,” he said. 

“They became concerned about a particular property; the Gardaí were notified and the Gardaí, the Fire Brigade, the Ambulance Service attended. 

“In a downstairs room of this two storey property, the badly decomposed remains of a woman was discovered.” 

No foul play

There is no indication of foul play or forced entry to the property. 

The woman has not been seen locally since 2021 but Gardaí believe she has not been dead quite that long. 

“Of particular importance to [Gardaí] will be an examination of things like phone records, post delivered to the house, the post that was opened in the property,” Mr Riegel explained. 

“Also, the dates on various food stuffs and items in the house; what they’re trying to do is pinpoint a period when this lady was last known to be alive.” 

The identity of the deceased is expected to be made public within the next 24 hours. 

“Because of the badly decomposed nature of the remains, the formal identification will require dental records,” Mr Riegel said. 

“It may even require DNA analysis; the body was examined in situ, the Office of the State Pathologist was notified and remains taken to Cork University Hospital morgue where a postmortem examination was scheduled to commence today.” 

An inquest into her death will likely take place in 2025.

Main image: Image shows the back of a Garda jacket.