THOUSANDS of pounds have been raised to help the family of a mother and daughter who were found murdered in Newry last week after several funds were set up in response to the tragedy.
A GoFundMe page set up by Kim Winters for the family of Giselle Marimón Herrera and her 15-year-old daughter Allison to help return their bodies home for burial was last night closed to donations after raising more than £4,450.
It was said the fund would help towards flights, hotel costs and the funeral.
Ms Marimón Herrera, who was 37, and her daughter Allison were found dead at a property at Glin Ree Court in the city last Thursday.
Russell Steele (38), who was in a relationship with the murdered woman and lived at the address, is believed to have killed the mother and daughter before taking his own life.
Police forced entry to the flat after concerns were raised by a relative that they had been unable to make contact for several days.
Results of a post-mortem examination confirmed Allison, who was a pupil at Newry High School, had been strangled. It is believed her mother was killed in the same way.
Originally from Colombia, Ms Marimon Herrera had moved to Spain some years ago, where she naturalised and gave birth to her daughter Allison, whose father is Portuguese.
She had moved to Newry for work about four years ago and was joined by her daughter in 2017.
Another GoFudMe fundraising page, set in the aftermath of the tragedy by Ógra Shinn Féin Newry, had last night raised more than £1,700.
It said the money would allow the murdered woman's parents to fly from Colombia to Northern Ireland to say goodbye to their daughter and grand-daughter.
"We we are raising funds to show the family of these two ladies that the people of Newry are there for them in their time of need and great sadness and that we will try our best as a community to facilitate their safe arrival to our town to mourn their beloved family members," the page read.
A third fund has been set up at Newry Credit Union.
SDLP councillor Michael Savage said the fund would "assist in covering flight and accommodation costs for family members who want to travel here and also assist with the repatriation of the bodies and other support the family may need".
Among those who have so-far supported the fund is Colin Bell, from the Kevin Bell Repatriation Fund, which assists families whose loved ones have died abroad by repatriating their remains back to Ireland.
Donations to the fund to help the Marimón Herrera family can be made at Newry Credit Union or online donations can be made to account number 84109694, sort code 902338.
