Funeral arrangements to be announced for Mirjana Pap who's body was discovered in Roscommon
Investigations have been ongoing while gardaí confirmed the investigation has now been upgraded
Funeral arrangements will be announced for Mirjana Pap, who's body was discovered in a remote area at Curraghaleen, around 10km outside Athlone on Monday, January 30.
She was last seen in the town in the early hours of Saturday and was the subject of a missing person appeal over the weekend.
Investigations have been ongoing since and in an update, issued this New Year's Eve, gardaí confirmed the investigation has now been upgraded.
"A post-mortem examination was carried out earlier today by the Deputy State Pathologist, Dr Yvonne McCarthy, at Galway University Hospital. The results of the post-mortem are not being released for operational purposes.
"The deceased has now been formally identified as Mirjana Pap and following a post-mortem examination, An Garda Síochána has commenced a murder investigation," said a spokesperson.
The investigation is being led from an incident room at Athlone garda station by members of the Crime Functional Area in the Meath Westmeath Division under a Senior Investigating Officer, with assistance from the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
The timeframe in question relates to the period between 11am and 12 midday on Saturday, December 28.
"The car is understood to have travelled from Beechville estate, Athlone onto the M6 motorway (west bound) from junction 11 to junction 13 before continuing on the R362 from Monksland to Bealnaulla," said a spokesperson.
Any motorists who travelled along these routes within this timeframe are asked to provide gardaí with dash-cam footage.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Athlone garda station on 090 649 8550, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any garda station.
Mirjana Pap, who is originally from Croatia, had been living and working in the Athlone area for a number of years.