February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The 29-year-old victim, identified as Ashly Rowland, died after sustaining head wounds in Fitzwilliam Street in south Belfast. Police put the time of death to be about 7 p.m. on May 15th, and are investigating a theory that she may have fallen from a window.
Rowland, a languages student from New Mexico, was said to have arrived in Northern Ireland last month. She had been studying French in Scotland prior to arriving in Belfast. She left her home a year ago to tour Europe and was staying at a backpackers’ hostel off Lisburn Road.
A friend of Rowland’s, Trudy Hartley, said her family are devastated by the news. “Ashly was the nicest person I know. She was a vegetarian who used to spend all her time visiting children in hospital,” she said.
Rowland’s parents have been informed and are expected to arrive in Belfast this week to collect their daughter’s body.
South Belfast Sinn F