Cork vigil held after young Indian woman is killed in her own home

Tributes have been paid to a young Indian mother after she was murdered in her own home.

Deepa Dinamani (38) died on Friday evening (July 14), after she was discovered with serious stab injuries at her home in Cardinal Court estate in Wilton, Co. Cork.

Deepa, who was a chartered accountant and a mother to her five-year-old son, had only moved to Ireland three months ago.

The mother-of-one was originally from the south Indian province of Kerala, and had been living and working in Cork.

A concerned friend found Deepa during a visit to her home, after she failed to show up to collect her son from a summer camp.

Tragically, despite consistent efforts by emergency services and paramedics, Deepa was pronounced dead at her home.

Her husband, Regin Parithapara Rajan (41), has since been charged with her murder, and appeared before a special sitting of Cork District Court yesterday (Sunday, July 16).

Following the hearing, he was remanded in custody and will appear in court again via video-link this Thursday.

Yesterday evening, a vigil was held in Cork by over 150 members of the Indian community, to show their support for the Dinamani family and to condemn violence. 

A framed photo of Deepa was laid out alongside flowers, tea lights and candles, and prayers were said for her loved ones.

“May they find strength, courage and peace in the midst of this immense loss,” a spokesperson for the Cork Pravasi Malayali Association noted.

A post mortem examination of Deepa’s body has been carried out by State Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan, but its results have not yet been released by Gardaí for operational reasons.

The young mother’s family remain in contact with the Indian Embassy in Dublin following her heartbreaking death.