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jennifer dornan
Murdered mum-of-three found in house fire was stabbed before the blaze
A man has been arrested on suspicion of withholding information.
POLICE INVESTIGATING THE murder of mum-of-three Jennifer Dornan (30) have arrested a man on suspicion of withholding information.
The arrest was made late yesterday.
Jennifer Dornan’s body was found following a major fire at her home in Belfast. The alarm was raised at 5am on Sunday morning.
She had been out socialising with friends on Saturday night and went to a close friend’s house after leaving the Devenish complex at around 1.30am.
At 3am, she left her friend’s house and walked the short distance home.
Police are now appealing for witnesses who may have seen her in the bar on Saturday night or in Hazel View on Sunday morning to come forward.
This evening, police released a photo of a knife similar to the one they believe was used in the murder. It is almost 14 inches long and has distinctive orange and white markings.
The officer leading the investigation, Detective Superintendent Kevin Geddes from Serious Crime Branch, said: “I can confirm that Jennifer was stabbed during the attack early on Sunday morning.
We are appealing to anyone who has come across a knife like this since Sunday to contact us. We are grateful to the community for the enormous amount of assistance they have provided in the past few days and would ask for their continued support.
“We are following a definite line of enquiry. A 39 year old man remains in custody being questioned about withholding information. Other enquiries are continuing.
We are particularly interested in the movements and whereabouts of a man seen leaving Jennifer’s home at 4.20am on Sunday. We believe he walked from Hazel View, through Lagmore to Poleglass. We believe he was wearing a grey tee-shirt or sweat top and a light coloured bomber jacket.
“At some stage, we believe he got rid of the grey top and light coloured jacket and obtained a red and gold sports jersey.
The number to phone is the police non-emergency number 101 and ask for detectives.
People who don’t want to leave their details can call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
“Devastated”
Meanwhile, a Go Fund Me fundraising page has been set up by a friend of Jennifer Dornan’s in order to raise money for her children, who are aged eight, six and ten.
“Jen was a single mother who devoted all her time [and] energy to being the amazing mother she was”, said her friend who set up the page.
She added that the family “has been left [absolutely] devastated”.
So far, £15k has been raised.
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