The ex-husband of murdered nurse Karen Cummings has paid tribute to her saying she will be “forever loved”.
The mother-of-two was found unconscious and suffering from a serious head injury inside a house in the Laurel Heights area of Banbridge on Saturday evening.
Paramedics provided treatment at the scene but the 40-year-old was pronounced dead a short time later.
A 42-year-old man — originally from the Short Strand area of Belfast — was arrested at the scene and remains in custody.
A second man in his 30s from Lurgan was detained on Sunday afternoon when he presented himself at a police cordon outside St Patrick’s cemetery on the Dromore Road in Banbridge after emerging from a nearby farmyard.
Both suspects are well-known to the police and remain in police custody being questioned by detectives about the murder.
John Paul Cummings, who was married to the paediatric nurse and is the father of her two children, Curtis and Zara paid an emotional tribute to her.
Posting on Facebook he said: “Miss you, fly high Karen, me and the kids miss you so much, always and forever” adding she will be “forever loved”.
A nurse in Daisy Hill Hospital the Southern Trust said its thoughts and sympathies are with Ms Cummings’ family, friends and colleagues.
“Karen was a valued member of our staff and we have all been shocked and saddened by her untimely death,” said the trust.
“Karen will be very sadly missed and remembered always, especially by her paediatric nursing colleagues at Daisy Hill Hospital.”
A timeline showing times around the murder of Karen Cummings in the Laurel Heights area of Banbridge (Graphic by Kevin Scott)
A popular member of staff in the children’s ward in Newry, she has been described as both a “cherished daughter” and a “beautiful soul” by colleagues.
A fellow nurse said that the “Daisy ward will never be the same.
“Our beautiful friend and colleague … sending love to her two children and family”.
Another said, “Completely heart-breaking. Thinking and praying for all Karen’s family at this immensely difficult time. Karen was a great colleague and it was a privilege to have worked with her”.
One more said Ms Cummings was “an amazingly knowledgeable and kind nurse” adding that she would “go above and beyond to help patients and colleagues”.
Ms Cummings is the seventh woman to be murdered in Northern Ireland in 2024 and the 25th to have been murdered since the start of 2020.
A death notice for Ms Cummings said she was the devoted mummy of Curtis and Zara, cherished daughter of Margarita and stepdaughter of Andrew, and loving granddaughter of Mary and the late Jim McQuaid.
Women’s Aid NI also expressed their sympathies and highlighted the number of women who have been killed in Northern Ireland in recent years.
“Please know our thoughts are with you all at this incredibly distressing time and we cannot begin to imagine what you are going through at the moment, especially at this time of year,” they said.
Karen Cummings
In a joint social media post, Aghaderg Gaelic Football Club and Ballyvarley Hurling Club expressed their “deepest sympathy” to the family members of Ms Cummings.
They said: “Aghaderg GAC & Ballyvarley HC are saddened to learn of the sudden death of Karen Cummings, mother to our U16 Camog, Zara.
The PSNI have described the incident as a “brutal and senseless murder”.
Supt Brendan Green said: “Our thoughts are with Ms Cummings’ family and friends as they struggle to come to terms with what has happened and they have our full sympathy at this time.
“Please be reassured that our officers will be doing everything in their power to conduct a thorough investigation into what has happened and we would urge members of the public not to speculate.”
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