The family of Jamey Carney has launched a GoFundMe appeal to help with repatriation costs and to help her daughter to stay in Ireland ‘while grieving this tragic loss.’

Jamey’s body was found beaten by her 13-year-old daughter in the bedroom of the home they rented last Tuesday. They had been living in Kerry for nearly five years.

On Monday it was confirmed that Jamey’s boyfriend had been arrested in his native Jordan after a week-long international search following intense diplomatic pressure from the US.

Ahmad Al-Saqar, 28, was held by Jordanian police over the weekend, five days after he left Ireland following the New York native’s killing in Killarney.

Gardaí, Interpol, Europol and Jordanian police, alongside US authorities, had collaborated to track down Mr Al-Saqar following discussions with the US State Department’s office, EVOKE’s sister paper the Irish Daily Mail understands.

In a GoFundMe appeal launched following Jamey’s death, her sister Devon Bennett said she and her mother, Kathy, are working with the gardaí and social services in Killarney and want ‘to make sure my niece can stay in the land she loves, especially while grieving this tragic loss’.

She said: ‘Either you may have known Jamey and our family, from any stage of her short but wild and beautiful life, or you came upon this GoFundMe after hearing about her terrible murder, we cannot stress enough that every single dollar (or euro) will truly count.

‘Jamey was an insanely caring human being who dedicated so much of herself, her energy, and her time to fighting for the rights of others. We grew up in New York, but she spent much of her best years with Michaela in the States in Bergen County, NJ.’

Devon, who is now in Ireland with her niece and mother, continued: ‘But their true home, where they both truly felt they belonged, was the beautiful town of Killarney.’

There has been an international outcry following Jamey’s death on Monday.

Following her tragic death, Jordanians living in Ireland came together and issued a statement decrying what happened to the mother of one. In the statement, the Jordanians in Ireland Forum said: ‘This is an unjustifiable act under any circumstances, a brutal crime that defies all religious, human, and moral values, representing a flagrant assault on the most sacred human right: the right to life.

‘We unequivocally condemn this horrific crime in the strongest possible terms. In this context, the forum highly commends the swift response and efficiency of the Public Security Directorate in Jordan, which led to the arrest last night, where he is currently detained pending further investigation.’

It’s believed that Mr Al-Saqar took the 3am bus last Tuesday morning directly from Killarney to Dublin Airport just hours after Jamey’s death. From there, he was able to use his own passport to travel to Turkey. Mr Al-Saqar is believed to have been travelling towards his home town of Al-Husn in Jordan when he was picked up by local authorities. That area is 7km from Irbid and is controlled by tribal authorities.

Despite his detention, legal battles are expected over whether he will ever set foot in Ireland. In the meantime, gardaí will be able to build a file which will then be sent to the DPP. If the DPP deems that he should be charged, gardaí can then go about getting him sent back to Ireland.

Speaking on Monday, Tánaiste Simon Harris said gardaí will work ‘hand in glove’ with their international partners.

He said: ‘Our sympathies are with the Carney family after the horrific loss of Jamey… We obviously don’t comment on ongoing investigations beyond that but Ireland will be engaging intensively to make sure justice is served.’

Also speaking to reporters, Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said that the lack of an extradition treaty between Ireland and Jordan will make an extradition more challenging.

However, he pointed to the newly established treaty with the UAE which saw Daniel Kinahan and his lieutenant Seán McGovern detained in Dubai.

He said: ‘No matter where you are, the gardaí will seek to pursue you. It obviously is difficult… but that situation happened in the United Arab Emirates, and we secured an agreement with the United Arab Emirates.’

In a statement, gardaí said: ‘An Garda Síochána is aware of the arrest of a male in Jordan by the Jordanian authorities. Any further comment is a matter for the Jordanian authorities.’