Before the sun had even risen on the morning of Christmas Eve, 1995 Julia O’Brien was discovered dead on the floor in her home in Drimoleague, Co Cork.
Julia was well known locally, as was her problem with alcohol but no one would have thought that the 46 year married mother of five would die after a severe beating and strangulation.
What had happened?
Continue reading “115- Flawed Relationships: The killing of Julia O’Brien”In June 1997, Patrick Sammon was murdered in his home in Galway in the course of an argument.
What had led to the fight that night would be a story of two very damaged individuals and circumstances one lawyer said were “stranger than fiction”.
Continue reading “114- Damaged Individuals: The murder of Patrick Sammon”In September of 1989, 19 year old Deirdre Mulcahy was heading out for the night to meet her friends in Midleton, Co Cork. She never returned home. The garda investigation into her killing would last years – the court proceedings, however, would not.
Continue reading “113 – The Passers-by: The murder of Deirdre Mulcahy”On 9 November 1970, in the little village of Clonroche, Co Wexford, a young girl went missing. Just a few hours later her body was found dumped in a field not far from her home, and the main street of town.
The only certain thing at the outset of the investigation into 9 year old Marie Buckley’s murder was that this terrible thing had been done by someone local.
Continue reading “112 – A Terrible Thing: The murder of Marie Buckley”Amanda Jenkins was the sort of person who looked for the good in everyone. She was just 27 years old when she was found dead on her bedroom floor.
It had taken very little for the bad to emerge in someone Amanda had loved and trusted.
Continue reading “110 – Too little, Too late: The murder of Amanda Jenkins”On the morning of 26th March, 2013, a car entered the water at Arklow pier. Only one of it’s occupants emerged from the freezing, rough water. Was it a terrible accident? Or a plan to murder?
Additional writing, research and editorial support from Eileen MacFarlene
On 25th September, 2001, 28 year old German tourist Bettina Poeschel took a train from Dublin to Drogheda, Co Louth. She wanted to visit Newgrange – an ancient monument in the Meath countryside. She decided to make the 10km walk from the town to take in the countryside while there.
But Bettina never made it to Newgrange.
She had disappeared into thin air.
Continue reading “107 – The Day Trip: Bettina Poeschel”In August of 2005, 23 year old Ann Walsh was found dead in the grounds of the parish church in Kilrush, Co Clare. Gardai made an arrest shortly after the discovery – Raymond Donovan, Ann’s former boyfriend.
Donovan admitted to gardai that he had killed Ann, but denied her murder. Would the jury agree?
Continue reading “106 – Unintended: The murder of Ann Walsh”In July of 1993, 17 year old Tracy Butler was set upon and stabbed to death while walking home in what appeared to be a random act of violence. But as gardai began investigating the case, they began unravelling a complicated web of relationships – ones which had turned sour.
Continue reading “105 – Vendetta: The murder of Tracy Butler”57 year old Rose Farrelly was found dead in her own home on the morning of the 15th February 1993. It appeared that the house had been broken into, and then the single woman had been beaten, sexually assaulted and strangled to death.
The trial for Rose’s murder was the first in Ireland to use DNA evidence.But the reason for Rose’s murder remains unclear – it appears the answer may be the most frightening of all.
He did it because he could.
Continue reading “104 – Brazen: The murder of Rose Farrelly”