Lisa Thompson murder: Gardaí make 'significant progress' as funeral to take place Monday

A “clear picture” of the circumstances of her fatal stabbing less than a fortnight ago is beginning to emerge due to forensic evidence from the murder scene as well as digital evidence from her mobile phone, it is understood.

Gardaí believe the 52-year-old had been dead for at least two days before her body was found on the afternoon of May 10 at her home at Sandyhill Gardens in Ballymun. She had suffered a large number of stab wounds.

A murder investigation has been underway since the discovery of her body but no arrests have yet been made. Ms Thompson’s teenage son and daughter were not in the house when she was found, as they had increasingly been staying in the care of their father.

It became evident she was struggling with “escalating personal issues” a number of weeks before her murder.

While Ms Thompson did not abuse illegal drugs, this newspaper revealed last weekend she had developed an addiction issue with prescription medication around a year before her death.

Her interaction with “criminal elements” selling these tablets on the black market may have brought her into contact with her killer, security sources say, but this is just one line of enquiry.

Informed sources added that the status of the murder investigation is at a “sensitive stage” and that “for operational reasons” a lot of garda intelligence concerning the circumstances of the murder could not be divulged.

“A clear picture in relation to this woman’s murder is beginning to emerge. A lot of progress is being made in this investigation. It is expected there will be developments soon in this case,” the security source added.

Two days after Ms Thompson was found dead, her driver’s licence was handed into a Finglas garda station. Last Monday, gardaí released a statement saying a document linked to Ms Thompson had been left with a member of civilian garda staff and appealed for the person who handed it in to come forward.

The man in question duly presented to gardaí, gave a statement, and is not a suspect in relation to the murder of the 52-year-old.

It is understood the man found the driver’s licence on the street and handed it into gardaí.

This document is being forensically examined for fingerprints and detectives are trying to establish whether her killer took the ID from her home in the aftermath of the stabbing and, if so, what the motivation for doing so might have been.

Ms Thompson’s funeral notice, published on Wednesday, described her as the beloved mother of Kyle and Brook and loving daughter of Bernadette.

She is also survived by her sister and brother, Ashley and Stefan, and the notice said she would be sadly missed and remembered with love by all of her family and friends.

She reposed at Michael Doyle Funeral Home, Finglas village, yesterday. Her funeral will take place tomorrow and she will be laid to rest privately.

Gardaí have been studying Ms Thompson’s personal contacts, particularly people who were new in her life over the past 12 months. Her phone has been examined, which is understood to have given officers an indication of who she was in contact with and met in the final days of her life.

That information, combined with forensic evidence gathered from the scene, has been “most helpful” in narrowing down a list of suspects for her murder, according to a source.

There was no sign of a break-in or a struggle or fight at Ms Thompson’s home.

This supports a theory that she probably knew her killer. A concerned neighbour raised the alarm by calling 999. When paramedics arrived at the house they called gardaí.