Man’s brain cut out and body disected, court told
His torso was bisected, several limbs had been crushed and severed and his brain had been “cut out”.
Reported as a missing person, the body of 34-year-old Waterford man Martin Nolan was discovered on a makeshift pyre in woodland near Clonmel.
State pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy told an inquest that while a lump hammer and nail bar could have been used, the cause of death was most likely two gunshot wounds in his head.
Dr Cassidy said the dead man’s right arm was missing from below the elbow and his other arm had also been severed below the wrist. His brain was also missing, she told the inquest in Tramore.
When Dr Cassidy arrived at the scene in hills outside Clonmel, on July 6, 2000, she saw a body lying on a pile of logs. She said there were attempts to set the body alight. Firelighters and a drum containing an accelerant were found nearby.
The body had been cut in two through the abdomen and Mr Nolan’s organs were exposed. The upper half of the body was lying at an angle to the lower half and a blue nylon rope was tied around the chest and neck.
The ends of the rope were burnt.
“Most of the skull was missing but the lower jaw bone was still intact,” she testified. “The right arm was missing below the elbow, and below the wrist on the left arm was also missing,” she said.
The body, she added, was partially-coated in lime and lime was also found on a carpet nearby. Identification of the remains was not possible at the time but was later established using dental records and DNA.
As well as the four holes to the skull, Dr Cassidy also noted that Mr Nolan’s Adam’s apple had been crushed and fractured; his windpipe was torn; the saw had cut through the lumber spine and there were also two shallow saw cuts to his legs, above the knee.
Mr Nolan was last seen near Avondale in Waterford at around 7pm on November 10, 1999. He called to his former girlfriend before parking his car and heading off on foot. The following day, his family reported him missing.
A few days after his disappearance, forestry officials noticed fresh blood covered by sand and gardaí discovered a piece of bone. Some months later, two fishermen saw a fire in Clondonnell Woods. But it was not until July 5, 2000, the two men returned and discovered a pyre containing Mr Nolan’s remains.
