Updated 9am
GARDAÍ IN LOUTH are investigating a possible murder suicide after a woman’s body was found at a house in Rathmore shortly after her husband was involved in a fatal car crash.
The couple have been named locally as Jim and Marie Quigley. Mr Quigley died after driving his car the wrong way down the M1 Dublin to Belfast motorway, colliding with a truck and another car.
It is understood gardaí were en route to the couple’s home at Rathmore in Hackballscross to inform the family of the crash when they were notified of a possible murder at the house.
Marie Quigley’s body was found by a family member just over an hour after the M1 collision. The 70-year-old woman had sustained extensive head injuries.
Gardaí investigating the two incidents are confident they are linked and that it was a case of murder suicide.
Sources said 69 year old Jim Quigley had only recently returned to the home after a period of separation. He had a history of mental health issues.
State pathologist Marie Cassidy is due to conduct post mortems on the bodies today at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.
Shock
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, local priest Father Gerry Campbell said the close-knit community was in shock. “The shock is palpable.” Both Jim and Marie Quigley were well known in the area.
He said everyone’s prayers go out to the couple’s adult children Ciaran, Conor, Sonia and Mark.
Father Campbell said there was a sense of numbness being felt within the family today following yesterday’s tragic events.
“For children to lose both parents in such tragic circumstances is beggar’s believe.”
The driver and two passengers in the other car involved in the M1 crash were injured and taken to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda with their injuries not thought to be life-threatening.
- With reporting by Michelle Hennessy.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say