Murder victim is due to be buried

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The funeral of murder victim Shirley Finlay is expected to take place in Belfast later.

Shirley, 24, from Crebilly Road, Ballymena, was found strangled in Mount Street car park on 19 September.

Detectives investigating the young woman's murder in County Antrim have said a sexual motive is one of their main lines of inquiry.

She will be buried following Requiem Mass at St Gerard's Catholic Church in north Belfast on Saturday.

Police want to hear from anyone who may have seen Shirley in the Harryville area on Monday 18 September with a tall, dark haired man in his late 20s or early 30s.

They are also looking for her footwear and her jeans or black track bottoms.

'Average build'

Police have printed posters and leaflets with Ms Finlay's photograph to raise public awareness.

A mobile police station is also in operation at the Mount Street car park where her body was found.

In the photograph issued of Ms Finlay, she has dark hair, but when she was last seen alive, her hair had been dyed blonde.

She was 5ft tall, of slim to average build and was wearing a grey fleece, black trouser bottoms and, possibly, trainers.

Ms Finlay has been described as a woman who had mental health problems and who regularly walked alone in Ballymena.

Police have described her murder as "brutal".