Material recovered from woman killed 42 years ago sent to UK to generate DNA profile, court hears

Material recovered from a woman who was killed 42 years ago had to be sent to the UK in 2008 to generate a DNA profile, as Ireland lacked the techniques to interpret low amounts of DNA at the time, a cold case murder trial has heard.

Noel Long (74) with an address at Maulbawn, Passage West, Co. Cork has pleaded not guilty to murdering 54-year-old Nora Sheehan between June 6 and June 12, 1981 at an unknown place within the State. Her body was found by forestry workers at The Viewing Point, Shippool Woods in Cork six days after she went missing.

The jury has already heard that the pathologist who carried out the post mortem on Ms Sheehan found bruising in the anterior wall of her vagina and it showed the presence of spermatozoa. Dr Robert Dermot Coakley conducted the post mortem on Mrs Sheehan on June 13 1981 but died weeks after carrying out the examination in August 1981.

Dr Brid Martina McBride, who has worked in Forensic Science Ireland (FSI) for the last 32 years, today told Mr Brendan Grehan SC, prosecuting, that on April 24, 2008 she received three separate slides - a vaginal swab, anal swab and oral swab - that had been taken from the body of Mrs Sheehan.

Mr Grehan put it to the witness that at the time FSI did not have the facility or ability to interpret low amounts of DNA. Dr McBride said FSI didn't do the technique at the time to generate a DNA profile from the slide containing the vaginal swab.

The witness decided to send the vaginal swab slide to Dr Jonathan Whitaker from Forensic Science Services (FSS) in the UK for DNA profiling as he was an expert in this area. 

"It contained a high concentration of semen, there was quite a lot of semen on the slide," she commented.

On November 13, 2008 Dr McBride said she gave the microscopic slide containing Mrs Sheehan's vaginal swab and a blood stain card from the deceased to Detective Garda Padraic Hanley.

Detective Garda Padraic Hanley, who was attached to the Garda Serious Crime Review Team at the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, said that having received the microscopic slide of the vaginal swab and the blood stain card from the last witness he travelled to FSS in Birmingham on November 14, 2008 to submit those items.

Det Gda Hanley said he returned to FSS on September 13, 2010 to retrieve the two exhibits and gave them to Detective Sergeant Michael Buckley from the Garda Serious Crime Review Team on November 26, 2010.

Det Sgt Buckley said he retained the two exhibits in his secure possession from 2010 until he returned them to Det Gda Hanley on June 7, 2023.

In his opening address, Mr Grehan told the jury that Dr Jonathan Whitaker from Forensic Science Services in the UK had developed a DNA profile from semen recovered from Ms Sheehan's vagina. In November 2021 he said material from Mr Long was obtained by gardaí, which was analysed in the forensic science lab. 

"Results from their analysis were sent to Dr Whitaker and he will say it matched the semen recovered from Ms Sheehan's vagina. Using the calculation tools, the possibility that it originated from someone other than Mr Long is one in 20,000 provided they are unrelated to him," said the barrister.

The final witness of the day, Donal Boyle (81), said he had lived in Togher in June 1981 and that he had known Mr Long. 

Mr Boyle said the accused was living at Riverbank in Curraheen at the time and that Mr Long had called to his house for up to 30 minutes on the evening of June 6, 1981. The witness said the accused had driven to his house and was driving an Opel Kadett at the time.

The trial continues tomorrow in front of Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of seven men and four women, when it is expected that the State's case will end.