Although they were aware of threats to the solicitor acting for Latvian murder victim Baiba Saulīte, Irish police (the Garda)  have clarified that they never provided armed personal protection to him, the Garda Press Office said in a Nov. 22 statement.

Police also have learned Saulīte, who was shot and killed Nov. 19 in what has been described as a “professional hit,” was concerned for her safety.

The press office issued the statement is response to what it said has been some inaccurate reporting in the media.

Both the solicitor and Saulīte were advised on how to protect both their property and themselves, police said.

“During the course of investigations over the last number of years,” the statement reads, “Gardaí became aware of threats to a solicitor.”

The solicitor acted on Saulīte’s behalf in a dispute she was having with her estranged husband. Saulīte died at her home north of Dublin in what apparently was a murder for hire. Her two sons, ages 3 and 5, were asleep in the home.

“Once Gardaí became aware of the existence of these threats, the solicitor was immediately advised,” the press office statement continues. “Extensive crime prevention advice was also given to the solicitor including enhancements he could make to his properties and personal safety. His properties were subject to security surveys by trained Garda personnel and these surveys were supplied to him.

“As is normal procedure in such cases, the properties of this subject would have received attention from Garda patrols, both uniformed and armed. At no time, prior to Ms. Saulīte’s murder, was full-time armed personal protection supplied to this man.

“Due to the links between Ms. Saulīte and the solicitor in question, Ms. Saulīte was also given crime prevention advice regarding her property and personal safety.

“At no time, prior to her tragic death, were Gardaí aware of any specific threat against the life of Ms. Baiba Saulīte and no complaints were received by Gardai from any person in this regard.”

Saulīte was killed as she was visiting with two or three friends at her home, which is in the Hollywell neighborhood of Swords, a community north of Dublin.

“As part of the murder investigation,” the police statement continues, “house-to-house enquiries are ongoing in the Hollywell area and the Gardaí have now learned that Ms. Saulīte expressed concerns to friends and neighbours regarding her safety. We have also established that in the course of preparing a document for court use in the sentencing of her husband, Ms. Saulīte expressed concerns for her safety and appeared to be somewhat in fear of him.”

The commissioner of the Garda, the statement adds, is now investigating “when and to whom this information was known.”

The regulatory body that represents Ireland’s legal profession has condemned the apparent murder-for-hire of a Latvian mother of two as well as the death threats against her solicitor.

In a statement issued Nov. 21, the Law Society of Ireland noted that the threats against the unnamed solicitor were made before Saulīte was gunned down the night of Nov. 19 at her home north of Dublin. The solicitor had contacted the society several weeks before the murder.

“He made the Society aware that he was under armed Garda [the Irish police] protection because of death threats, which he had received resulting from the legal work he had undertaken on behalf of Baiba Saulīte,” the statements reads.

Saulīte was shot three times, in full view of two or three witnesses, by a man who then left the scene in an autombobile driven by another man. Her two children, ages 3 and 5, were asleep in the home. Saulīte, 28, was separated from her husband, a Lebanese named Hassan Hassan. He is serving a prison sentence for involvement in a stolen automobile scheme.

The murder investigation is ongoing, according to Irish media and the police. An international crime network may figure in the case, according to the Irish Independent, and may also be linked to an arson attack on the solicitor’s house.

“(A) threat to a solicitor, simply for doing his job expertly and fearlessly on behalf of his client, is a direct attack on the administration of justice and on the rule of law generally,” Ken Murphy, director general of the Law Society, said in the statement. “The thoughts and support of his profession are with him, and with the family of Baiba Saulīte, at this terrible time.”

Police in suburban Dublin are searching for two men believed to be involved in an apparent murder-for-hire of a Latvian mother of two, according to Irish media.

Baiba Saulīte, 28, was shot three times around 9:45 p.m. Nov. 19 as she was smoking cigarettes with two or three friends on the doorstep of her north County Dublin home, the Irish Independent and the Irish Times reported Nov. 21. Saulīte’s two sons, ages 3 and 5, were asleep inside.

Saulīte died at the scene, said the press office of the Garda—the Irish police.

Police described the shooting as a “professional hit,” Irish media reported, and are considering that her murder may have been tied to personal difficulties she has been facing. Her husband, a Lebanese named Hassan Hassan, is serving a four-year sentence in an Irish prison for his connections to a scheme involving stolen automobiles. And her two sons were abducted in December 2004 and taken to be with relatives in Lebanon and Syria before being returned to Saulīte in Ireland.

Saulīte’s profile on the Latvian social network draugiem.lv suggested recent days had been happy ones, including time spent with her children visiting holiday exhibits. Some of the photographs show a smiling Saulīte at the door to her home.

Her killing made front page news in several Irish newspapers. On Radio Telefis Éireann, Saulīte’s death prompted wider discussion of crime in Ireland.

According to the Irish police, a lone gunman approached Saulīte while she was visiting with friends at her home in north Dublin. He shot her three times and then got in an automobile driven by an accomplice.

A burned-out black BMW automobile was later found in Kinsealy in County Dublin. Police are investigating whether this is the same vehicle used in the murder.

Police were making house-to-house inquiries in the Swords neighborhood of northern Dublin, Radio Telefis Éireann reported Nov. 21. The broadcaster also reported that Saulīte’s solicitor was under police protection.

Saulīte’s family from Latvia was scheduled to arrive in Ireland on Nov. 21. As soon as her body is released by the coroner’s office, the Embassy of Latvia and an Irish funeral fund will help make arrangements to return Saulīte’s remains to Latvia, Ivars Lasis, first secretary in the embassy, told Latvians Online via e-mail.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to telephone the Swords Garda Station at (+353) 1-6664700. The police especially are looking for assistance from the Latvian community, according to Radio Telefis Éireann.