Arrest in murder of girl with Irish father in Britain

A MAN in his 20s was arrested in Britain yesterday in connection with the murder of 16-year-old Mary-Ann Leneghan, whose family are from Mayo.

Her 18-year-old friend, who survived being stabbed and shot, endured a “disgusting ordeal” at the hands of up to six men, police said last night.

Despite her injuries, she managed to make her way to a nearby road and flag down a passing motorist who rang for help. She remains in a serious but stable condition in hospital.

Her friend, Mary-Ann Leneghan, from Reading in Berkshire and whose father is from Mountjubilee, Bangor Erris in Mayo, was found dead at a park in the town early on Saturday. She had been stabbed in the neck.

A Thames Valley Police spokeswoman said: “The 18-year-old girl is a key witness to all this. She has been working with police throughout the weekend and has been as brave as she can be.”

She said detectives were “certain there was a reason why this happened.”

She would not confirm whether the victims were known to the offenders.

She said the two girls and as many as six men spent “several hours” at a guest house in the red light district of Reading and their means of transport was a maroon-coloured saloon car.

CCTV footage is being scrutinised in an effort to trace the vehicle.

Of the girl who survived, the spokeswoman said: “She went through a pretty disgusting ordeal with them. At the moment she has done the best she can. She is a little girl who has been through a terrible ordeal.”

The spokeswoman was responding to a question about the ambiguous descriptions of the offenders, which have ranged from mixed race to white or Afro-Caribbean.

“They were taken against their will. They were subjected to physical abuse throughout the evening,” she said.

“We do not know how far they (the offenders) intended things to go that night.”

She said forensic tests were attempting to establish whether the girls had been sexually assaulted.

The 18-year-old girl was undergoing further tests to discover the firearm used to shoot her.

Mary-Ann’s 84-year-old grandmother was being comforted by friends and relatives at her Co Mayo home yesterday.

An emotional Molly Leneghan from Mountjubilee, Bangor Erris, said she had not been informed of the full facts of what happened. One of her sons, Bertie, was Mary-Anne’s father who emigrated to Britain in the 1970s.

Mrs Leneghan, a widow, said her late grandchild had never been to Mayo although her elder sister had been there on holidays.

Prayers for the dead teenager were recited at masses in the Erris area over the weekend. Local Fine Gael Councillor Gerry Coyle said the Leneghans were very well known and respected and the whole community felt for them in their time of absolute grief.

Detective Superintendent Mark Warwick of the Thames Valley Police major crime unit is leading the investigation.

“Our inquiries led us to three addresses in London which were searched by officers, resulting in the arrest of a man in his 20s who is now in the custody of Thames Valley Police.

“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the girls involved and they have our deepest sympathies. We owe it to them to find out who is responsible for this murder and assault,” he added.

Investigators are offering a reward of stg£10,000 (€14,674) for information related to the attack.