” HE TRIED TO STRANGLE ME TOO”

Earlier this week Meath Live broke the story that revealed the arrested man is living in Duleek.

The woman, who does not want to be identified, spoke to the Sunday World last night.

She confirmed she had contacted gardaí about him “because I don’t want him to be tried as someone who has done this as a one-off, like it is the first time he has hurt someone”.

Ms Ward (36) was found dead at the Hotel Magnolia Salou at around 9.30pm on Sunday when local police officers were alerted to a disturbance. She had been strangled.

It is understood the couple had been in a relationship for a few months and had travelled to Salou last Friday afternoon.

Gardaí in Ashbourne, Co Meath, received correspondence this week from the man’s former girlfriend.

She claimed he tried to strangle her in an incident in a property in Co Meath a number of years ago.

On Thursday, gardaí told the woman her correspondence had been forwarded to Interpol, whose investigators are expected to inform the Spanish authorities.

The woman, who is aged in her 30s and was in a relationship with the man for several years, said she “went into shock” and has been unable to work since hearing news of Ms Ward’s murder.

“I felt it could have been me and I am very grateful for the help of my family and friends in getting me out of the situation after he attacked me,” she said.

Recalling the alleged attack, the woman said that after a night out, the man threw her on to the floor of a bedroom and “grabbed me by the throat, put his hands on my throat and he held it until I

She said it ended when other people walked into the room.

The woman ended her relationship with the man in the days after the alleged assault.

“I thought I was going to die. It all felt very surreal after that. I knew I had to leave him,” she said.

The woman has also alerted gardaí to alleged incidents involving the man and two other former partners.

It is understood the man had been known to garda