Former 'Bond girl' slain in Ireland

HOWTH, Ireland, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Celine Cawley, who earned the title of "Bond girl" for her small role in "A View to a Kill," was bludgeoned to death at her home in Howth, Ireland, police say.

Cawley appeared in the 1985 James Bond movie, which starred Roger Moore as secret agent 007.

The Daily Mail said the 46-year-old actress, advertising executive and filmmaker was the victim of a mid-morning attack Monday on the patio of her posh home. She died at the hospital where she was taken -- battered and comatose with serious head injuries -- less than an hour after she was discovered.

Her husband Eamonn Lillis, who helped her run her production company, told police he had been walking their dogs at the time of the assault and arrived home to see Cawley wounded and a masked suspect fleeing the scene, the newspaper reported.

Cawley and Lillis have a 16-year-old daughter, Georgia, who reportedly was at school at the time her mother was attacked.

Police told the Daily Mail there was no sign of a break-in and investigators are keeping a "very open mind" regarding the case.