TWO weeks ago, Baiba Saulite's brother, Karlis, came to Ireland. He came on behalf of his mother, who has been unable to travel since Baiba was murdered. He came for his father, who wants an update on the garda investigation. He also came for himself, to see Baiba's children, to let them know they are loved.

This weekend, in an interview with the Sunday Tribune, Karlis Saulite talks about his family's frustration with the Garda investigation, their grief about Baiba, and their helplessness to make life better for the two small children who have been left behind.

"Every time I look at pictures of the children, I want to cry, I feel so sad, " Karlis told the Tribune. "They were the main reason for my visit to Ireland. I wanted to see them, and to find out what is happening to them."

Twelve weeks after their mother was murdered, fiveyear-old Ali-Alexsandra and three-year-old Mohamed Rami are still in foster care.

They are not so young as to have escaped full knowledge of the horrors around them.

They know what happened to their mother. They know their father is in jail. And they're dealing with their grief in a strange house with strange people. The Saulite family desperately want to take them back to Latvia, and look after them until their father has been released from jail.

"The social workers in Ireland have helped as much as they can, and I think they really are doing their best to help the children, " said Karlis. "But it's nearly three months and they're living with people who are not related to them and who cannot give them real love even if they tried. And at that age, the children really need love. Especially because Baiba was such a caring mother. Now they're just searching for something to remind them of her, they're searching for that love.

"It was such a tragic situation. Even though the children are very small, they know what has happened. We try to laugh and we try to smile all the time, but you can still see in their eyes that they are very sad."

During his visit here two weeks ago, Karlis brought Ali and Mohamed to a cafeteria.

He said that there was a family sitting at the table next to them. "Baiba's children looked at that family with such eyes, as if it was a miracle to see a father and mother and children together, " he said. "I have seen a lot of things in my life, but what the children are going through now, and what they are feeling, you can understand that only when you see them."

Karlis said that the Saulite family would like full custody of the children, but are resigned to that never happening. "We can't fight [for custody], " he said. "We have no basis for it, because the children's father is alive. It has not been proven that he is guilty, so there is no point trying to fight. There is no legal logic. I might believe whatever I want, but that is how it is in reality."

Instead, the family are focusing their energies on trying to get custody of the children for the time that their father is in jail. The number one priority now is to get them out of foster care.

However, the Saulites have been unable to get in contact with Hassan Hassan's family to discuss this with them.

"We have not been able to talk to them, " said Karlis. "We have tried, but we are getting no answer."

Frustrated with the shutdown in communication, Karlis came to Ireland to visit Hassan Hassan in jail. "I don't remember the date exactly, " he said. "We wanted to talk about the children, and I asked him if we could take them to Latvia until he is free. He told us he wouldn't like it."

This refusal of permission has left the Saulites anguished and angry. "I don't understand the position of Hassan, " said Karlis. "And I don't understand the position of his family. We are connected by blood to these children. It has to be all about them now. They are small human beings who need love. Children are not animals.

They need a family to live with.

They need stability. They need more than to spend a little time sitting with their uncle in a cafeteria."

In the background to the human tragedy, the garda investigation into who killed Baiba Saulite continues.

However, having met with the gardaA- during his visit two weeks ago, Karlis is pessimistic about the progress being made in the case.

"We met with the gardaA- once, and we only got very basic information, " he said.

"There was no point in the meeting. What we were told, we could have read about on the internet. Nobody is telling us anything. They say the investigation is going well, it's going forward, but we don't know what to believe. We don't know if there are any prime suspects. We really don't know if the crime will ever be solved.

We don't know anything."

Karlis said that he doesn't blame the gardaA- for the lack of progress in the investigation, because he believes they have been rendered powerless by the restraints of the legal system in Ireland. "If this crime had happened in Latvia, I believe it would have been solved by now, " he said.

"Recently, I read about the court system in Ireland. I learned what is the position of the gardaA- and what is the position of the accused. And I realised how it is three times easier to get the job done in Latvia. We are a democratic country also. We are members of the European Union.

But we have three times more order here."

The Saulites are still deeply disillusioned that no one at all has been charged in relation to the crime. "To think, in the 21 century, with all the technical power available, that you can't solve some simple things, " said Karlis. "That you live in a democracy that gives more rights to criminals - it gives me pain just to think about it."

There is also anger in the family that 28-year-old Baiba was not given any protection from the gardaA-, despite voicing concerns about her safety.

"It is completely incomprehensible, " said Karlis. "Of course, Baiba should have been given protection from the gardaA-. We now know that she went to the gardaA-, she gave signals about her abuse and about the threats against her. How couldn't they protect her?"

For whatever reason, Baiba was left vulnerable. And she was shot and killed. Her family have been left grappling with events of that night for three months now, struggling to deal with their grief.

"My father is doing alright, but my mother is very bad, " said Karlis. "She is on drugs for depression. She is weak now, and has big problems with her health. Baiba was her only daughter. They haven't been to Ireland yet to visit the children. My mother still cannot gather herself to make the trip."

In addition to their grief, the wide speculation that Hassan Hassan was involved in Baiba's murder weighs heavily upon the Saulites. During his visit to Hassan Hassan in jail, Karlis asked him directly if he had orchestrated the shooting of Baiba. "He said that he was not guilty, " said Karlis. "Do I believe him? I may believe what I want. Until anything is proven, I do not want to express any radical opinions.

"Right now the question is not about Baiba, because we cannot bring her back. Now we have to focus on the children. That is what she would have wanted."