On Christmas morning, 2008, 81 year old widow Maire Rankin was not answering the phone. Family members called around to her Newry home to check on her – not only had she been recently ill but it was totally out of character for her to not respond.
When they arrived at the house on the Dublin Road, Maire was found dead on her bedroom floor. The house was a mess, and it appeared that Mrs Rankin had been subjected to a violent assault of a sexual nature.
No one expected it when Maire’s 42 year old neighbour was arrested. Not only was Karen Walsh a woman, she was a wealthy pharmacist who stayed in her second home in Newry on the weekends.
What on earth had happened, and was the mother of one really responsible for the death of the elderly woman?
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Theme Music:
Quinn’s Song: The Dance Begins Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Additional Music: Allemande (Sting) by Wahneta Meixsell. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Sources:
R v Walsh [2015] NICA 46
R v Walsh [2011] NICC 30 (No 2)
R v Walsh [2011] NICC 1
Gerry Moriarty, “Death in Newry treated as suspicious” in The Irish Times (27 December 2008) p 4
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Dearbhail McDonald, “Crucifix killer Karen Walsh planned to flee after plastic surgery” in The Belfast Telegraph https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/crucifix-killer-karen-walsh-planned-to-flee-after-plastic-surgery-28665502.html (4 October 2011)
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Gerry Moriarty, “Innocent plea ensures details of terrible night stay unknown ” in The Irish Times (5 October 2011) p. 4.
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Adrian Rutherford, “Murderer Karen Walsh got £218,000 of public cash for her defence” in The Belfast Telegraph https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/murderer-karen-walsh-got-218000-of-public-cash-for-her-defence-28756299.html (2 June 2012)
Deborah McAleese, “Families’ experience reveal how the justice system let them down” in The Belfast Telegraph https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/families-experiences-reveal-how-the-justice-system-let-them-down-28767802.html (5 July 2012)
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Alan Erwin, “Newry crucifix murder: Convicted killer Karen Walsh to launch appeal to clear her name” in The Belfast Telegraph https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/newry-crucifix-murder-convicted-killer-karen-walsh-to-launch-appeal-to-clear-her-name-31021639.html (25 February 2015)
Alan Erwin, “Crucifix killer Karen Walsh may not have intended to murder pensioner, court of appeal hears” in The Belfast Telegraph https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/crucifix-killer-karen-walsh-may-not-have-intended-to-murder-pensioner-court-of-appeal-hears-31040838.html (4 March 2015)
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Alan Erwin, “Crucifix killer to use new evidence about ‘visitor’ in pensioner murder appeal” in The Belfast Telegraph https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/crucifix-killer-to-use-new-evidence-about-visitor-in-pensioner-murder-appeal-31062527.html (12 March 2015)
Alan Erwin, “Phone expert reverses his opinion in crucifix killer’s appeal case” in The Belfast Telegraph https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/phone-expert-reverses-his-opinion-in-crucifix-killers-appeal-case-31092858.html (24 March 2015)
Alan Erwin, “Crucifix killer Karen Walsh loses appeal against conviction for battering her elderly neighbour to death” in The Belfast Telegraph https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/crucifix-killer-karen-walsh-loses-appeal-against-conviction-for-battering-her-elderly-neighbour-to-death-31329356.html (25 June 2015)
Alan Erwin, “Crucifix killer Karen Walsh refused Supreme Court bid to overturn conviction” in The Belfast Telegraph https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/crucifix-killer-karen-walsh-refused-supreme-court-bid-to-overturn-conviction-34176337.html (6 November 2015)
Mark Bain, “Murdered pensioner’s daughter still gets flashbacks 10 years on” in The Belfast Telegraph https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/murdered-pensioners-daughter-still-gets-flashbacks-10-years-on-37676354.html (3 January 2019)