RIGA - A 28 year-old woman from Latvia was shot dead in Ireland at 9:45 p.m. on Nov. 19, according to an official report from the Latvian Embassy in Dublin.
The woman's body was discovered at her home in Swords County. Police are currently investigating the murder.
The victim was involved in a recent custody dispute with her estranged husband, who in 2005 kidnapped their two children and fled the country. The children were later returned to their mother and, according to police, were in the house at the time of the shooting.
On Nov. 20, the Latvian daily Diena reported that the victim was 28-year-old Baiba Saulite, who had moved to Ireland seven years ago. She had worked several odd jobs in Ireland, such as a manicurist and home health care worker. At the time of her death, Saulite was reportedly working as an office cleaner.
No arrests have so far been made in connection with the murder, but Irish police have characterized the killing as "efficient" and "a professional hit" in the local media, saying that Saulite had been threatened by foreigners in the months before her death.
In 2005, Saulite was involved in a court dispute to recover her two children who had been kidnapped by her husband, Hassan Hassan.
The Irish daily the Fingal Independent reported that Saulite broke down after Hassan was released from custody and said, "I went to court, but what's the point? I just lost my babies. I have nothing now." Working through the court system, she eventually secured custody of her children.
"Baiba's husband was jailed for kidnapping her children. Is seems to me that this is connected [to her murder]. But I don't want to say anything, because I don't exactly know about it," Saulite's friend, Eva Mikelsone, was quoted by the Latvian daily Neatkariga Rita Avize as saying.
"According to the information known, [Saulite] had serious troubles with her husband, who right now is in jail. Information is now leaking that he was also involved with car theft," Roberts Karlans in Swords, Ireland told Neatkariga Rita Avize.
