Family united in grief appeals for help to track girl’s killers

THE uncles of murdered Mary-Ann Leneghan, 16, spoke yesterday of the family’s grief following her brutal killing.

Mary-Ann’s father Bertie left Mayo in the 1970s and his mother, Molly still lives there.

Paul and Tony Harris faced the media at Reading police station, around two miles from where her body was found in a park.

Tony described Mary-Ann’s family, many of whom had emigrated from Mayo, as “close-knit” and “united in grief”. Mr Harris said in a statement: “Mary-Ann was a normal bright 16-year-old who was looking forward to a life caring for children.

“She was looking forward to going to college in September.

“She had lots of friends in all parts of the town and was always spending time with them.

“She did not deserve what happened to her.”

Making an appeal for people with information to come forward to assist detectives in finding her killers, Mr Harris said: “We believe there are people out there who know exactly what happened and we need those people to come forward.”

A fifth arrest, of a man in his 20s, was made at lunchtime in London yesterday.

The man is being questioned by Thames Valley Police officers.

Detective Superintendent Mark Warwick, leading the inquiry, said he thought Mary-Ann and her 18-year-old friend were “left for dead” in Prospect Park, Reading, Berkshire, in the early hours of Saturday.

“I believe the acts of violence at the park were attempts to kill them both,” he said.

The girls were forced into a maroon-coloured car by around six men who found them chatting together in the car park of a disused pub near to their homes.

The men drove them to the Abbey House Hotel in Connaught Road where they were sexually assaulted. They were then dumped in the park.

Mr Warwick said his officers were investigating the discovery of a car found dumped in the Thames on Saturday morning after Mary-Ann’s death from a stab wound to the neck.

Despite insisting it was not a random attack, the officer said he was still trying to discover a motive and whether the girls were known to their attackers.

He said a suspected arson attack at the 18-year-old survivor’s house was “being looked into” to see if it was connected to last weekend’s attack.

Mary Ann’s 84-year-old grandmother was being comforted by friends and relatives at her Co Mayo home. Molly Leneghan from Mountjubilee, Bangor Erris, shares a house with one of her sons, Tony.