In October of 1995, Mary Doogue was beaten to death. She lay in her bed in her cold dark home for 12 hours before she got any medical attention, and died shortly after. Her partner 19 year old Stephen Davis was arrested two days later.
He would tell the court that he had been provoked. Would a jury buy his excuse?
Continue reading “92 – No Excuse: The murder of Mary Doogue”On 28th February 2006, Siobhan McLoughlin was found dead in locked bedroom. At first glance, it looked as if she had tragically taken her own life. But within hours after her death, police and the McLoughlin family felt sure that she had been brutally murdered.
But would the State be able to prove guilt, beyond a reasonable doubt?
Continue reading “90 – Beyond Reasonable Doubt: The murder of Siobhan McLoughlin”In April of 1986, three armed men burst into a lavish home in Howth. When they left, they brought with them Jennifer Guinness, mother of three and wife of the head of a merchant bank. A ransom was demanded for her return.
Despite the quick mobilisation of gardai all over Dublin, Jennifer’s captor would evade capture for over a week.
Continue reading “89 – The Ordeal: Jennifer Guinness”Raoul Moat was released from a short stint in prison in 2010. In the days that followed he shot three people, including a Northumberland police officer and went on the run in the quiet town of Rothbury.
Police scoured the countryside for this man with murderous intent, a search that ended on the bank of the river Croquet in a six hour stand-off.
Continue reading “86 – Vengeance: the hunt for Raoul Moat”In October of 2012, 30 year old Aoife Phelan went missing without a trace. Aoife had simply left a friends house and vanished with no sign of what might become of her. A garda investigation began to find the woman who had told hr family she was 4 months pregnant.
It would be a long two weeks before police discovered what had become of her.
Continue reading “81 – A Voyage of Fiction: The murder of Aoife Phelan”In the early hours New Year’s day, 2014 Wayne McQuillan stumbled out of a house in Rathmullen Park, Drogheda Co Louth. He was covered in blood. Paula Farrell, his partner would face trial for his murder three times.
But did she have a defence?
Continue reading “80 – Trauma: The murder of Wayne McQuillan”Just before Christmas 1994, Patch O’Driscoll went missing from his bedsit in Cork City. When the garda investigation began into his missing persons case, it was discovered two other men had also disappeared from the very same house on Wellington Terrace. Though there was no evidence of a crime scene inside the large dilapidated building, the cause was certainly within.
But there would be few answers and no justice in the case.
Continue reading “76 – House of Horrors: Cork’s missing men”In December of 1995, 41 year old Marilyn Rynn disappeared after attending her workplace Christmas party. Two weeks later her body was found hidden in bushes at a park near to her home. She had been attacked as she took a shortcut on her journey home.
A combination of cutting edge forensic techniques and old fashioned police work solved her murder 8 months later.
Continue reading “74 – Marilyn Rynn: The Shortcut”22 year old Rachel Kiely left home in Ballincollig, Co. Cork with her two dogs on the afternoon of the 26th of October 2000. Her dogs returned to the house, but she didn’t. A few hours later, her body was discovered hidden in undergrowth at the local park.
The person responsible would spend the next two decades in and out of court.
Continue reading “73 – The Park: The Killing of Rachel Kiely”In 1940, 24 year old Michael Devereux disappeared from his home in Co Wexford. A year later, his body would be discovered buried in an isolated part of Co Tipperary. A number of men who were known members of the IRA found themselves accused of the murder – allegedly motivated by the belief that Devereux had been a spy among their ranks.
A four month legal battle ensued, which saw the use of the Emergency Powers Act passed to deal with “The Emergency” of the ongoing war in Europe used to circumvent due process and normal court procedures in order to hold the men accountable.