Stabbed baby's mother hits out at Gardaí over inquest delay
A woman claiming to be the mother of a baby girl discovered stabbed to death over 30 years ago today criticised the Gardaí after the inquest was further delayed.
Cynthia Owen claims the baby girl, known as Noleen, found covered in blood in a lane in Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin in 1973 was one of two she gave birth to as a young teenager as a result of sexual abuse during the 1970s.
She insisted gardaí should have charged her late mother with murder.
The Dublin County Coroner Dr Kieran Geraghty adjourned the inquest for three months to study the garda investigation file which was forwarded to him 11 days ago.
Solicitor for Ms Owen, Gerry Dunne, queried why the gardaí had not forwarded the relevant records and documents to the Coroner’s Court in June after the DPP said there would be no prosecution in the case.
Keith O’Grady, BL, from the Chief State Solicitors Office, said advice was required from the AG as there were a number of people involved whose rights had to be considered.
Ms Owen said the coroner had no choice but to further adjourn the inquest to February 13, 2007.
“This is due to the fact that the gardaí, despite knowing that the coroner wanted the file for today, instead sent it to the Attorney General’s Office for advice, for nearly five months,” she said.
“The state informed the coroner today that a number of people’s rights came into play. What about my rights and Noleen’s rights?”
Ms Owen said: “This is now the fourth time Noleen’s inquest has been adjourned and it is simply not good enough because the Gardaí have had over 33 years to solve this case, and bearing in mind that on the night my daughter was murdered on April 4, 1973, my mother, who I witnessed murdering my daughter, came into contact with three members of the gardaí on two separate occasions within one hour of my daughter being murdered, and that on both occasions my mother was holding the bag that had Noleen’s body in it. That bag was found the next day with Noleen’s body – less than 24 hours after she had been murdered.
“Yet my mother was never charged with murder and died peacefully only a few weeks ago, while my daughter died a terrible death.”
Ms Owen said she expected the full hearing of the inquest in February would officially identify her daughter and deliver a verdict of unlawful killing.
Outside the court, she claimed: “This in effect will mean that it took me over 33 long painful years to prove something that the gardaí knew about within an hour.”
Adjourning the inquest, the coroner said: “After getting advice from the Attorney General the Gardaí released a number of documents. I only received these 11 days ago, obviously I need time to consider the documents and prepare for the inquest.”
Dr Geraghty said he would not delay unnecessarily and intended to proceed fully with the inquest in February.
The inquest was reopened by Dr Geraghty over 30 years after the baby’s death following representations by Ms Owen’s solicitors. The inquest has heard the baby died from haemorrhaging from blood vessels in the neck due to stab wounds.
Ms Owen came forward claiming to be the mother of the baby just over a decade ago. The woman, who is now in her 40s, has claimed the baby is one of two she gave birth to due to sexual abuse. She claimed she witnessed Noleen being stabbed to death.
Gardaí dug up the back garden of a home in Dalkey after Ms Owen claimed the body of the other baby was buried there. But nothing was found.
