An 81-year-old widow was stabbed several times before the killer attempted to dispose of her body at her isolated home in west Waterford, gardaí believe.Detectives were awaiting the results of a postmortem examination on the body of Noreen Daly carried out by a state pathologist at University Hospital Waterford, but are expected to formally upgrade their investigation to a murder inquiry. Sources said it was clear that the woman had died a violent death.A local man in his 30s who was known to Daly was arrested at 4am on Tuesday morning following a manhunt, and detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. The body of the pensioner was discovered by gardaí at her isolated home at Ardsallagh, two kilometres upstream of Youghal Bridge in west Waterford shortly after 2pm on Monday after they responded to an emergency call from a local man who had raised the alarm.The man had called to the bungalow on Sunday after being contacted for assistance by another man who was reportedly carrying out gardening work there.The man went into the Bridewell Garda station on Kyrls Quay in Cork and told the gardaí on duty about his concerns and they immediately notified gardaí in Dungarvan.Dungarvan gardaí then arranged to meet the man in west Waterford, and he brought them to the house down the quiet cul-de-sac leading to the Blackwater at Ardsallagh. Gardaí confirmed the presence of human remains, immediately declared the area a crime scene and cordoned off the area. The Waterford County Coroner was notified and the services of the State Pathologist’s office were requested as well as the Garda Technical Bureau, who travelled from Dublin to examine the scene.Meanwhile, gardaí from Waterford-Kilkenny Division along with officers from the neighbouring Cork County Division mounted checkpoints as they began a search for a local man in his 30s who was known to the pensioner and who had fled the scene in her Mercedes.Gardaí believe that the man drove to Killarney, Co Kerry where he had the stolen car fitted with false number plates before he returned to west Waterford where he was spotted approaching the home of the man who had alerted gardaí and it’s believed he abandoned the car and fled on foot.Gardaí mounted a large manhunt and warned people in the area to remain indoors before they arrested the suspect at around 4am on Tuesday in the local area and he was conveyed to Waterford Garda station for questioning about the death of the pensioner.The man was detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act which allows gardaí detain suspects for up to 24 hours, but it’s understood that the man’s questioning was suspended until 2pm on Tuesday after he was examined by a doctor and not deemed fit for questioning for six hours.Meanwhile, gardaí on Tuesday began door-to-door inquiries as well as checking CCTV cameras. Gardaí have also begun speaking to neighbours and friends to try to establish when any of them saw Noreen Daly alive. A native of Grenagh in mid-Cork, Daly and her husband, Michael, lived for many years in Monkstown in Co Dublin, but they bought the bungalow at Ardsallagh around 10 years ago as a holiday home as her husband knew the area well having spent much of his youth in nearby Clashmore.They gradually began spending more time at the house, which overlooks the Blackwater, and, after Noreen’s husband died in November 2023, she began spending more and more time at the holiday home, recently selling her house in Dublin and moving to Ardsallagh permanently.According to locals, the couple had no children and Daly lived alone since the death of her husband but remained very active and participated in local arts events including the Youghal Active Retirement Association as well as the Clashmore and Kinsalebeg Community Council.She was keenly interested in the arts and had recently attended four of the five operas staged at the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival in Villierstown while she used to attend music sessions in Ring outside Dungarvan as well as doing Tai Chi classes in nearby Ardmore.