GARDAI investigating the murder of Rose Hanrahan have uncovered CCTV footage that reveals her killer stalked her hours before her death.
The 78-year-old Limerick woman was strangled to death in her home in Thomondgate on December 15, in a killing that shocked the nation.
Gardai have spoken to around 1300 people as they await the return of DNA results following an extensive search of the property.
Now, new CCTV footage has identified her killer, but Gardai believe he has already fled the country.
The footage suggests the man is of Eastern European origin, possibly from Romania or Albania, and shows him following the victim in a Limerick supermarket shortly before he killed her in her own home.
A source told the Irish Mirror: “Gardai were able to find Rose in the days before on CCTV shopping in a local supermarket.
“While she was in this shop the suspect spotted her and tried to spy her passcode.
“His intention was to grab her card and take money out of her account but what happened was he murdered her.
“He never got her bank card –she had visited a relative and left her handbag behind her at that house.
“The detectives were able to spot the man in the supermarket, follow his movements and then see him in the area around Rose’s home.
“They then tracked him to Rosslare where he boarded a ferry to France.”
Gardai have now requested intervention from Interpol to help target the man and get a sample of his DNA.
The source added: “This was totally random – he was spotted inside the shop and he followed her thinking she was a vulnerable woman.
“He killed her, more than likely, for no other reason than he got carried away.
“A simple burglary could have meant that the resources would not have been available to prosecute an investigation. Now there is a Europe-wide hunt for him – hopefully, police will find him.”
