A 28-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of Montserrat Martorell in Derry at the weekend.
The man was been questioned at Musgrave Serious Crime Suite in Belfast on Monday evening.
Detective Chief Inspector Anthony Kelly said: “Our investigation is moving at a fast pace, and I continue to appeal to anyone who may have any information to contact detectives.”
The 65-year-old woman was found murdered in the Harvey Street area of Derry in the early hours of Saturday when crews from NI Fire and Rescue Service responded to reports of a fire.
DCI Kelly said she had “suffered a horrific attack and sustained multiple injuries”.
Earlier on Monday, police had appealed for help in locating a man in his 30s.
Extending condolences to Ms Martorell’s family and friends in Spain, DCI Kelly said the PSNI was “keen to speak with a white man, aged in his 30s, who was seen in the area wearing a grey jacket with hood up, blue jeans, trainers and a light coloured shirt between 1am and 2am”.
“Our detectives are working at full pace to establish exactly what happened.”
“From our inquiries so far, we can tell you that the victim suffered a horrific attack and sustained multiple injuries.
“I am aware of online speculation which is extremely unhelpful and deeply distressing to Ms Martorell’s family, and would ask people to refrain from engaging in this.
“We will investigate any posts online which could potentially prejudice judicial proceedings.”
Marie Brown, director at Foyle Women’s Aid, said Ms Elias’ murder had left a sense of fear in the city.
“There is a concern somebody did this and they may be still sitting in this community. Or they may have left but, you can be sure, if somebody did this, they can do it again,” she said.
“There is a sense of fear. It is shocking we have another homicide of a woman in Northern Ireland.
“This murder is indicative of the risk women are under at the minute and the need for Stormont to implement and properly resource the 2023 Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy.”
Ms Brown highlighted what she described as the increasing numbers of people being placed in Derry, particularly in Airbnbs, by the NI Housing Executive.
“We should have records of who is being placed in rented accommodation in the city and who the landlords are.
“At the minute we have no regulation. There is a lack of protection. Nobody should be placed in Derry, anywhere, without being linked into a support service.
“We waited three years while the executive was out. It is back now but we still don’t have a Programme for Government. We don’t even know what the Executive’s priorities are. Nothing is changing on the ground.
“The Executive needs to focus on need, not fairy stories about stadiums.”
