Bobby Ryan was a well known and well loved figure in Tipperary. He was a local DJ, known as Mr moonlight, in addition to his work in the local quarry. He was divorced, with two grown up children and in 2011, he was dating a local widow – Mary Lowry.
On the 3rd of June of that year, Bobby Ryan went missing. 8 years later, it was spark the longest-running criminal trial in the history of the state.
But how did we get here?
Part One of this two part series on the recent trial and media spectacle dubbed the “Tipperary Love Rival Trial” delves into the background of Patrick Quirke, Mary Lowry and Bobby Ryan. The events leading to Mr Ryan’s disappearance, death, and his ultimate discovery in a run off tank on nearby farmlands are detailed in depth.
Women have been disappearing from, or ending up found dead in, the Wicklow Mountains for over 30 years. In this bonus episode we look at a man that is suspected to have committed some of these abductions and murders, look back on a number of unsolved rape and murder cases in the 80’s, and bring the story right up-to-date with that latest unfortunate woman to have been killed and dumped in what is called “the vanishing triangle”.
So, what the heck is going on in the Wicklow Mountains?
In the summer of 2000, 8 year old Sarah Payne was out playing in the evening sunshine with her two older brothers and her little sister. After falling, she ran out of the field and into a lane to head back to her grandparents with brother Lee following behind.
Celine Cawley was a model, a former bond girl, an advertising producer and a successful business owner.
But in December of 2008, she was attacked in her own home and died of her injuries. Her husband, Eamonn Lillis, said that there had been an intruder in their exclusive Howth home, but was he telling the truth?
In April of 2015, two countries were gripped by the disappearance of a 24 year old nurse. Karen Buckley, from Co. Cork had gone on a night out in Glasgow’s busy West End. But she didn’t return home.
Quickly a police search for the missing woman was up and running. But it would prove to be too late. Karen’s fate was sealed mere minutes after she told her friends goodbye.
It’s St Patrick’s day. Worldwide, buildings are being “greened”. Shamrock shakes are being consumed. Guinness is being poured, and we’re drowning the shamrock.
But, this time of year sees a lot of bad behaviour. Some directly as a result of our celebration of all things Irish and some… a little more premeditated. This week, I’m joined by 4 other fabulous podcasts to tell the story of some St Patrick’s day crimes for you.
In 2002, two ten year old girls – Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman – went missing in the quiet and idyllic English town of Soham. It quickly became apparent that the girls had not simply wandered off. What followed was two week search for them, and the revelation that a terrible crime had taken place.
The shocking truth was that the girls had been murdered by a member of their community, someone they knew. And someone they trusted.
On Friday the 22nd September 2012, Jill Meagher left work after a long week and went out for a night on the town in her adopted home of Melbourne, Australia. She spent the evening in a number of bars and pubs with work friends.
But that night, there was a predator out on the streets too. One who had spent nearly a decade in prison for violent assaults and rape, and was still on parole and bail. Because of him, Jill would never make it home that night.
On the afternoon of the 6th January, 2005 Robert Holohan rode his brand new silver BMX bike down his drive and out onto the roads of Ballyedmond, a townland north of Midleton in rural East Cork.
When Robert didn’t return home that evening, and had not answered his new phone, a search began that would bring people from all over the country to the area to volunteer to look for the 11 year old, alongside the Gardai and the army. But, just over a week later, Roberts body was found in a deep ditch, caught up in brambles, alongside Inch Strand. He was 12 miles from his home.
The Garda investigation worked quickly, and it soon became apparent that Robert had not gotten far from home, before he was killed.
The small town of Ada Oklahoma was rocked in the early 80s by two unrelated murders of young women in the town. But by the mid 90s, that would change. The town would come under scrutiny for miscarriages of justice, where two and possibly more men were convicted of crimes they did not commit.
Last month, Netflix released The Innocent Man, a 6 part series looking at these crimes and their aftermaths. This week on the podcast, we take an in-depth look into just one of those cases, that of the murder of Debbie Sue Carter and the wrongful convictions of Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz.
Ron and Dennis had very different journeys through their appeals processes, but both of their fates lay in the testing of DNA evidence. Would new science finally exonerate them?
