Garda Launch Appeal Over Street Attacks

Garda in Dublin have said they believe that two women who were badly beaten and choked in random street attacks, before one of them was raped, were victims of the same man.

Forensic evidence found during the investigations into the attacks, both in the city but 12 months apart, suggests one attacker was involved.

“I can say definitively that there is a forensic link between these two attacks,” Supt Jim Hynes said.

Hynes is heading a high-profile public appeal, launched to identify a key person of interest in each of the cases.

He added that the level and nature of the violence used was also similar, as were the time of the attacks and the physical appearance of the victims. CCTV images captured on the streets close to the attacks have been circulated to the media as part of what gardaí are calling an “advanced stage” of the investigation.

(H)