This article is from page 17 of the 2007-04-24 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 17 JPG
MARGUERITE O’Dwyer died as a result of severe blunt force trauma to the head, while the 90 stab wounds inflicted were a secondary cause.
That was the conclusion reached by State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy, who addressed the jury on Tuesday morning.
“This young woman had been the victim of a violent assault, with at least 90 wounds to the head, trunk and legs and at least six blows to the head,” she said.
“This type of injury would cause rapid death and was irrecoverable,” added Dr Cassidy.
She said the majority of the stab
wounds were inflicted after death and the victim had possibly been knocked unconscious by the first Ke) YA
The hazel-eyed young woman had been subjected to 20 stab wounds to the head and neck, including to the cheeks, eyelid, nose and jaw line. Another 64 wounds were inflicted over the front of the trunk and 14 stab wounds to the thighs.
“There was no evidence of any typical knife defensive injuries to the upper arms,” said Dr Cassidy.
She agreed with Defence Counsel Patrick Gageby, SC, that the absence of defensive injuries suggested the young woman had been “completely taken by surprise.”