Murder of Raonaid Murray
Encyclopedia
Raonaid Murray was an Irish
murder
victim, stabbed to death at the age of 17 in the early hours of Saturday morning, 4 September 1999. As of September 2009, ten years after the murder, this case remains unsolved. The murder weapon has not been located either. Each year her family and the Garda Síochána
issue new appeals for fresh information. In 2009, a tribute website was set up but was targeted by vandals and naysayers who posted upsetting messages.
By 2008, Raonaid was said to have "achieved iconic status", according to Kim Bielenberg of the Irish Independent
, who remarked in one article that her image was still to be seen on the front pages of Ireland's newspapers on a regular basis. The case has been compared in the media to other unsolved incidents such as the disappearance of schoolboy Philip Cairns
in 1986. However, the high-profile nature of this case has been criticised by those who believe Raonaid's higher class and social status has made her death more appealing to the reporting media to the detriment of other murders.
, South Dublin
. Raonaid is the Irish
name for Rachel
. She had two siblings, an older brother and an older sister. She attended St Joseph of Cluny secondary school in Killiney
where she achieved highly in her Junior Certificate
before completing her Leaving Certificate
examinations in June 1999. On finishing school she worked part-time in a fashion boutique in Dun Laoghaire
but intended to re-sit her Leaving Cert at the Institute of Education in Leeson Street
and hoped to attend the arts faculty in University College Dublin
upon completion. She liked reading and poetry, with her favourite play being "Under Milk Wood
" by Dylan Thomas
, and hoped to one day be a success as a professional writer. She wore a blue stud in her nose, was known for dressing in bright colours and pursued an active social life.
More than 100 Gardaí
were assigned to the case at its peak. By 2008, more than 8,000 people were interviewed and almost 3,000 statements taken. There were 12 arrests. The knife used to murder Raonaid has never been found.
In the build-up to the first anniversary of Raonaid's murder in 2000, there were fresh appeals for information by Gardaí and Detective Inspector Eamon O'Reilly appealed to listeners of Morning Ireland
for assistance.
Each year, Raonaid's family issue an appeal for more information. They have offered a reward of €190,000. These appeals for information have been renewed, particularly with authorities suspecting that any young people who may have witnessed the crime may now have reached the correct level of maturity to discuss what they saw. On the tenth anniversary of Raonaid's murder in 2009, gardaí issued descriptions of a male and female who they wanted to interview on the matter.
care at some point. He would also have had a history of anti-social behaviour
and would be unlikely to have had any intimate relationships. The profile indicated a likelihood he would kill again.
The review team suggested new theories:
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
victim, stabbed to death at the age of 17 in the early hours of Saturday morning, 4 September 1999. As of September 2009, ten years after the murder, this case remains unsolved. The murder weapon has not been located either. Each year her family and the Garda Síochána
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
issue new appeals for fresh information. In 2009, a tribute website was set up but was targeted by vandals and naysayers who posted upsetting messages.
By 2008, Raonaid was said to have "achieved iconic status", according to Kim Bielenberg of the Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...
, who remarked in one article that her image was still to be seen on the front pages of Ireland's newspapers on a regular basis. The case has been compared in the media to other unsolved incidents such as the disappearance of schoolboy Philip Cairns
Philip Cairns
Philip Cairns disappeared on the afternoon of 23 October 1986 while walking back to school in south Dublin, Ireland. The thirteen year-old schoolboy left his home in Ballyroan to return to school, but has not been seen since. A large-scale investigation was carried out but no trace of the boy has...
in 1986. However, the high-profile nature of this case has been criticised by those who believe Raonaid's higher class and social status has made her death more appealing to the reporting media to the detriment of other murders.
Background of victim
Raonaid Murray was born on 1 January 1982 to parents Jim and Deirdre Murray and lived in GlenagearyGlenageary
Glenageary is an area in the suburbs of south County Dublin, Ireland, part of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County.While there is no officially defined boundary, it is surrounded by the areas of Sallynoggin, Dalkey, Dun Laoghaire, Glasthule and Johnstown...
, South Dublin
South Dublin
South Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is one of three smaller counties into which County Dublin was divided in 1994. The county seat is Tallaght, the largest suburb of Dublin and the biggest urban centre in the county. Other important centres of population are Lucan and Clondalkin...
. Raonaid is the Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
name for Rachel
Rachel
Rachel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, is a prophet and the favorite wife of Jacob, one of the three Biblical Patriarchs, and mother of Joseph and Benjamin. She was the daughter of Laban and the younger sister of Leah, Jacob's first wife...
. She had two siblings, an older brother and an older sister. She attended St Joseph of Cluny secondary school in Killiney
Killiney
Killiney is a suburb of Dublin in south County Dublin, Ireland. It is within the administrative area of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County. The area is by the coast, south of neighbouring Dalkey, and north to Shankill area in the most southern outskirt of Dublin....
where she achieved highly in her Junior Certificate
Junior Certificate
The Junior Certificate is an educational qualification awarded in Ireland by the Department of Education to students who have successfully completed the junior cycle of secondary education, and achieved a minimum standard in their Junior Cert. examinations...
before completing her Leaving Certificate
Leaving Certificate
The Leaving Certificate Examinations , commonly referred to as the Leaving Cert is the final examination in the Irish secondary school system. It takes a minimum of two years preparation, but an optional Transition Year means that for those students it takes place three years after the Junior...
examinations in June 1999. On finishing school she worked part-time in a fashion boutique in Dun Laoghaire
Dún Laoghaire
Dún Laoghaire or Dún Laoire , sometimes anglicised as "Dunleary" , is a suburban seaside town in County Dublin, Ireland, about twelve kilometres south of Dublin city centre. It is the county town of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County and a major port of entry from Great Britain...
but intended to re-sit her Leaving Cert at the Institute of Education in Leeson Street
Leeson Street
Leeson Street is a thoroughfare near central Dublin, Ireland.Originally known as Suesey Street, it was renamed in 1728 after the Leesons, a family of local brewers, who branched into property development and subsequently became Earls of Milltown....
and hoped to attend the arts faculty in University College Dublin
University College Dublin
University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...
upon completion. She liked reading and poetry, with her favourite play being "Under Milk Wood
Under Milk Wood
Under Milk Wood is a 1954 radio drama by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, adapted later as a stage play. A movie version, Under Milk Wood directed by Andrew Sinclair, was released during 1972....
" by Dylan Thomas
Dylan Thomas
Dylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
, and hoped to one day be a success as a professional writer. She wore a blue stud in her nose, was known for dressing in bright colours and pursued an active social life.
Murder
Raonaid spent the evening of 3 September socialising in Scotts pub on Georges Street, Dun Laoghaire, a place she knew well. She had just finished her shift in the boutique at 9:00pm. It was to be the place where she was last seen alive. She left at approximately 11.20pm, planning to meet friends again later, and started the 15-minute walk home. It is believed that she argued with a man described as being in his mid 20s an estimated 25 minutes after leaving the pub in the laneway between Silchester Road and her home in Silchester Park. Witnesses heard a female voice expressing a cry of "leave me alone", "go away" or something similar. "Fuck off" was also heard. This was followed by a scream. Raonaid was stabbed four times in the side, chest and shoulder with a one-and-a-half-inch sharp knife while in Silchester Crescent. Her murderer escaped and Raonaid staggered 200 feet before she collapsed and died from her injuries. Her body was found by her sister Sarah 50 yards from her home, at 12:20am on the morning of Saturday 4 September. Raonaid was not sexually assaulted nor were her possessions stolen.Investigation
An investigation was launched; however, a motive has never been found.More than 100 Gardaí
Garda Síochána
, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí , is the police force of Ireland. The service is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.- Terminology :...
were assigned to the case at its peak. By 2008, more than 8,000 people were interviewed and almost 3,000 statements taken. There were 12 arrests. The knife used to murder Raonaid has never been found.
In the build-up to the first anniversary of Raonaid's murder in 2000, there were fresh appeals for information by Gardaí and Detective Inspector Eamon O'Reilly appealed to listeners of Morning Ireland
Morning Ireland
Morning Ireland is the breakfast news programme broadcast by RTÉ Radio 1 in Ireland and is noted as that country's most listened to radio programme. It is broadcast each weekday morning between 07.00 and 09.00 and is presented by Aine Lawlor, Cathal Mac Coille, Rachael English and Aoife Kavanagh...
for assistance.
Each year, Raonaid's family issue an appeal for more information. They have offered a reward of €190,000. These appeals for information have been renewed, particularly with authorities suspecting that any young people who may have witnessed the crime may now have reached the correct level of maturity to discuss what they saw. On the tenth anniversary of Raonaid's murder in 2009, gardaí issued descriptions of a male and female who they wanted to interview on the matter.
Profile of killer
A forensic profile of the killer suggested that it would be a young man, in his mid- to late twenties, single, living either alone or with his mother. He would have been a loner, possibly with a drug problem, and may have been in psychiatricPsychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
care at some point. He would also have had a history of anti-social behaviour
Anti-social behaviour
Anti-social behaviour is behaviour that lacks consideration for others and that may cause damage to society, whether intentionally or through negligence, as opposed to pro-social behaviour, behaviour that helps or benefits society...
and would be unlikely to have had any intimate relationships. The profile indicated a likelihood he would kill again.
Suspects
There have been a number of suspects for the murder since it took place:- The earliest suspect was a man in his mid-twenties, five foot ten in height, with sandy-coloured OasisOasis (band)Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
-style hair like that of Noel GallagherNoel GallagherNoel Thomas David Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, formerly the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and principal songwriter of the English rock band Oasis. He is currently fronting his solo project, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.Raised in Burnage, Manchester with his...
, who was wearing light coloured combat trousers and a beige top seen arguing with her less than an hour before she was killed. - A taxi-driver reported picking up a young man with blood on his trousers in the early hours of that Saturday morning and taking him to Granville Road at the top of Newtownpark Avenue, Blackrock. He dropped the man at a house there and felt he did not see him go inside. House-to-house inquiries carried out at the time did not find anyone fitting the description living on the road. Later in the investigation, a suspect was found to have been living at the time on the other side of Newtownpark Avenue. He was arrested and questioned, but there was no evidence.
- A cook was arrested and questioned but later released without charge.
- A young man seen dancing with Raonaid at a nightclub and then "hassling" her in an AbrakebabraAbrakebabraAbrakebabra is an Irish fast food restaurant franchise chain owned by Abrakebabra Investments, established in 1982.When the first Abrakebabra restaurant was opened in Rathmines in Dublin, it attracted a young market because of its late opening hours and novel menu including kebabs and taco fries.In...
fast food restaurant on 29 July 1999. - Farah Swaleh Noor, a KenyaKenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
n immigrant who was killed and dismemberDismembermentDismemberment is the act of cutting, tearing, pulling, wrenching or otherwise removing, the limbs of a living thing. It may be practiced upon human beings as a form of capital punishment, as a result of a traumatic accident, or in connection with murder, suicide, or cannibalism...
ed in March 2005 by Linda and Charlotte MulhallScissor Sisters (convicted killers)Linda and Charlotte Mulhall are sisters from Dublin, Ireland, known for having killed and dismembered the Kenyan immigrant, Farah Swaleh Noor, in March 2005. Noor was killed with a Stanley knife wielded by Charlotte and struck with a hammer by Linda following a confrontation with the sisters and...
, two sisters from Dublin. He allegedly threatened their mother, Kathleen Mulhall saying "I'm going to fucking kill you, just like I did with Raonaid Murray", although he was allegedly drunk at the time. Noor, who was questioned during the initial investigation, has since been ruled out; Gardaí believe he claimed responsibility to upset Mulhall.
Cold case investigation
A unit of experienced Gardaí called The Garda Serious Crime Review Team under detective superintendent Christy Mangan began a review of the case in July 2008. They identified a number of mistakes and oversights in the original investigation. It recommended renewed searches for the murder weapon and found areas of failings:- It determined that some potential witnesses who came forward with information at the time were followed up on incorrectly.
- There was tension between Garda units during the original investigation which meant that communication was not as effective as it could have been.
- Irregularities in a statement by one witness including an allegation of forgery which was referred to the Garda Siochana Ombudsman CommissionGarda Síochána Ombudsman CommissionThe Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission is an independent statutory body in Ireland charged with overseeing An Garda Síochána, the police force of the Republic of Ireland. It was established under the Garda Síochána Act, 2005. The Commission deals with complaints from members of the public about...
.
The review team suggested new theories:
- It was not the work of a random killer, that Raonaid knew her killer as there was no record of a similar attack happening before or after this particular crime anywhere in the Dublin region.
- The nature of the attack would suggest that whoever killed the victim held some sort of personal grudge. Raonaid was killed by a female. The woman may have been known to Raonaid and she was killed after a personal disagreement caused the schoolgirl to break off contact with her. They identified a woman in her 30s who had a reputation for violence against women. She left the country a year after the murder and still lives abroad.
Tribute website
On 28 August 2009, a website was launched by Jim and Deirdre Murray as a tribute to Raonaid and to generate awareness of the case. It received 50,000 hits in its first two days. However, the website was taken down due to the posting of a large proportion of abusive messages, necessitating a further Garda investigation into the matter.External links
- Raonaid.com—Tribute website
- As raonaid.com is launched, Jim and Deirdre Murray are interviewed by Barry Cummins on the loss of their daughter — Morning IrelandMorning IrelandMorning Ireland is the breakfast news programme broadcast by RTÉ Radio 1 in Ireland and is noted as that country's most listened to radio programme. It is broadcast each weekday morning between 07.00 and 09.00 and is presented by Aine Lawlor, Cathal Mac Coille, Rachael English and Aoife Kavanagh...
(audio) - Serious Crime Review Case Page
- Missing List appeal