Irish away jersey worn by victim gave gardaí vital clue

IT WAS the jersey of an Irish away strip worn by Farah Swaleh Noor on the day he died that provided the vital clue in helping gardaí to identify the victim whose headless torso and other body parts were found floating in the Royal Canal on March 30 last year.

Faced with such few identifying marks and the pale condition of the body parts, due to being submerged in water for a lengthy period, investigating officers initially believed the victim was a white male.

However, forensic tests subsequently revealed that it was actually the body of a black African man.

Because of the nature of the crime, gardaí also considered the possibility that the man was the victim of some ritual killing.

As a separate line of inquiry, however, they began to question people from various ethnic communities in Dublin to see if they were aware of anyone who had gone missing over previous weeks.

As part of the investigation, detectives also issued an appeal for information through various media, including the Metro newspaper, widely distributed among Ireland’s immigrant community.

The Metro article was read by Mohammed Ali Abu Bakaar, who noted the picture of the soccer jersey which he recalled was like one worn by his friend.

Ali Abu Bakaar told gardaí that he had seen Mr Noor wearing such an item of clothing on March 20 near O’Connell Street when he was in the company of a woman he knew as “Katherine” and her two daughters — just hours before he met his horrific death.

This vital piece of information soon led gardaí to question the three women about the Kenyan who, it was established, had not been seen for a few weeks.

A subsequent technical examination of Kathleen Mulhall’s flat at Richmond Cottages, near Croke Park, indicated that there had been an elaborate and intensive clean-up operation to hide evidence of a violent assault on the premises.

Despite attempts to conceal evidence of the attack, forensic experts were able to detect traces of blood that had fallen between floorboards. They were later found to match the DNA of Mr Noor.

In August 2005, shortly after her arrest, Linda Mulhall confessed to her role in killing her mother’s boyfriend by outlining how she had hit him with a hammer before disposing of his body.

She admitted that she and her sister had cut off Mr Noor’s head because they believed it would make it more difficult for his body to be identified.

Charlotte Mulhall initially denied her involvement in the crime, but slowly acknowledged that she helped to dispose of his body before then admitting that she had attacked him with a knife.

It was established that Mr Noor suffered 27 separate stab wounds to his torso.

Following yesterday’s sentencing, Detective Superintendent John McKeon, said gardaí were pleased with the investigation.

“There are no winners in this case,” said Det Supt McKeon, who extended his sympathies to Mr Noor’s family in Kenya, some of whom had wanted to travel to Ireland to give a victim impact statement to the court.

He also thanked the media and public for their vital role in assisting the investigation which he described as one of the most gruesome witnessed in his career.

Det Supt McKeon said inquiries were still being made about the whereabouts of Kathleen Mulhall in relation to Mr Noor’s death.

“We are not going to put closure on this investigation yet,” he added.

Kathleen Mulhall, aged 54, is believed to be in hiding in England.

The trial of her daughters heard evidence that she had a malign effect on her family. Her husband, John, whom she left to begin a relationship with Mr Noor, killed himself by hanging last December.