A woman who died following a stabbing at her home in Co Cavan has been named locally as Annie Heyneman, a mother of five.
Ms Heyneman’s husband’s Henk remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition after he also was stabbed at the couple’s home in Kilnavert, approximately five miles outside Ballyconnell.
A man in his 30s remained in custody on Monday after he walked into a take away in the town and asked the owner to phone gardaí and an ambulance.
Big Bite owner Arshad Qayyaum told reporters the man was bleeding heavily from his left hand. The man was arrested at the chip shop.
Gardaí have launched a murder investigation following the stabbing inside the property, which happened at approximately 9.30pm on Saturday.
Ms Heyneman was pronounced dead at the scene. Her husband, aged in his 60s and originally from The Netherlands, is being treated in Cavan General Hospital.
Mr Qayyaum, who has owned the shop since 2018, said the man arrested on his premises was a regular customer.
He put his mobile phone on speaker so the suspect could speak to gardaí, the Irish Times reported. The suspect told gardaí he had been involved in an argument, the paper added.
“He said: ‘Can you send two ambulances and I need a garda as well’,” Mr Qayyaum said.
Mr Qayyaum added: “He was very upset and nervous. At that time, I didn’t know what happened. A short time afterwards gardaí came along and put cuffs on him.
“He was crying inside the van and not saying anything. He didn’t put up any resistance. I was very shocked about what happened.”
Gardaí are appealing to anyone travelling in the area of Kilnavert between 8.30pm and 9.30pm on Saturday to come forward with any available camera footage, including dashcam recordings.
In tributes, Ms Heyneman was described as “always jolly, with time for everyone and a big smile”.
Local Fianna Fáil TD Brendan Smith added that the mother-of-five “was always doing good for people”.
He described the family as “popular, highly regarded”, adding that the “whole community is shocked and stunned”.
