LIMERICK Gardaí have forwarded all evidential material they have to the Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland as part of a joint cross-border investigation into the murder of a mother of four in Limerick City last April.
Belfast Magistrates Court heard today (Tuesday) that prosecutors had received Garda files in relation to the stabbing of Geila Ibram (27) at an apartment on the Dock Road, Limerick City, on April 4 this year.
Habib Shamel (32) is charged with murdering Ms Ibram, a native of Romania who had recently moved to Limerick.
Detectives have claimed Mr Shamel injured his hand when he encountered Ms Ibram, and that he fled north by bus from Limerick after he attended a local hospital to treat his wounded hand.
He was apprehended by PSNI officers in the Malone area of Belfast and was charged with Ms Ibram’s murder before Belfast Magistrates District Court under the Criminal Jurisdiction Act 1975, which allows the the PSNI to prosecute in Northern Ireland if a suspect has travelled there from another jurisdiction.
Ms Ibram’s body was discovered in her apartment after she suffered multiple stab wounds to her neck, face, and abdomen in what police described as a vicious and frenzied attack.
A previous court heard claims that Mr Shamel, an Afghani national, had killed Ms Ibram after he had arranged a “sexual exchange” with her on the day she was stabbed to death.
The court heard prosecutors have obtained CCTV footage which they will claim shows Mr Shamel arriving at Ms Ibram’s apartment and leaving less than two minutes later on the day.
Prosecutors told the court on Tuesday that they had received files from authorities in the Republic of Ireland.
All of the investigative steps in the joint cross-border murder investigation have been completed, the court heard.
A defence counsel for Mr Shamel submitted that a Preliminary Enquiry (PE), a procedural step required to have him returned for trial, should be held as soon as possible.
Judge Steven Keown remanded Mr Shamel in continuing custody to HMP Maghaberry and adjourned proceedings to establish a date for the PE on January 9, 2024.
