Alli MacDonnell, a 36-year-old mother of four, has been found dead just hours after posting a cryptic message to Facebook.
"Why is it ok for a man to call a girl a fat ugly c**t??????" she posted this weekend. "Seriously new level of pushing someone to the edge."
MacDonnell, a model and regular guest on the television show, Ireland AM, was discovered to have passed away on Sunday, February 3rd. It is not yet clear whether the post is connected to her death, and police are not treating the case as suspicious. However, detectives have said that they will be investigating anyone that MacDonnell was in contact with before her death.
Tributes poured in for the mother, on social media, with many people expressing their utter shock at losing her so suddenly.
"Stunned and speechless, im so sad to hear this news, we shared great times," wrote one person. "We'd lost touch so i dont know how she was in her life recently. Sending deepest sympathy to all her family and friends. May she rest peacefully."
"Rest In Peace stunning beautiful Alli you will always be remembered for your beauty inside and out," said another.
Meanwhile, MacDonnell's close friend, John Compton, divulged that he had spoken to her on the day of her death, and it seemed that she had a lot to look forward to in the near future.
"We are all beyond devastated. I spoke to Alli yesterday. We would speak nearly every day and we just can’t comprehend what has happened. I got the call around from her sisters. We will never get over this.
"She had so much to live for. She was an amazing mum and a fantastic campaigner for autism. She did such good work. She was in talks with TV producers to do two new shows, one is a show about autism and the other one was a pranking show."
MacDonnell's two youngest children have autism, and the mother was well-known for her advocacy around the condition.
Samantha Judge, the CEO of Autism Ireland, described MacDonnell as an "amazing mother" who worked hard for the cause.
"Here at Autism Ireland, we are very shocked and saddened at the loss of Alli," Judge said.
"Alli was an amazing mother, a beautiful woman, inside and out. She was a very strong voice for autism as a mother, and she was so supportive of her children and of the charity. She will be a great loss to us. Alli worked tirelessly to raise awareness of autism.
"She was a great friend and an amazing ambassador for Autism Ireland. We could call her and ask for her help at any time and she worked with us whenever we needed her.
"She was truly an inspirational person and we are all grieving a huge loss today."
It has not yet been disclosed who made the derisive comments to MacDonnell, nor whether that person did anything else that may have led to the mother's death.
