Verdict of accidental death returned on shooting

A YOUNG girl died on Christmas Day — just days before her 25th birthday — after being accidentally shot in the chest.

An inquest held in Cavan Courthouse yesterday heard of how on Christmas Day 2005, Sarah Blakely, of Tawlaught, Ballyheelan, Kilnaleck, Co Cavan, was killed when her then 20-year-old brother, Alan Blakely, went to retrieve a shotgun from behind their sitting room couch and accidentally fired a shot. A second shot went off as he then dropped the gun, because of a fault with the gun’s safety mechanism.

The jury returned a verdict of accidental death due to a shotgun wound to the chest. They also recommended further testing of the type of gun involved and said all guns should have an automatic safety lock.

The inquest heard that after Christmas dinner Alan went to get a gun from behind the couch on which Sarah was lying.

As he reached over and picked up the gun, it went off and the shot “hit Sarah in the belly”. She attempted to stand up and fell backward onto the floor. The shotgun, which he had used on the previous Thursday and was still loaded, went off again as it fell to the ground.

Alan ran to his father, Elliot, mother, Linda, and brother in the kitchen telling them that Sarah was shot and he didn’t mean it and he called 999.

The family made efforts to save Sarah, giving her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation — and a neighbour, Jacinta Coyle, helped to press a towel to her wound.

In his deposition, Garda Marcus O’Dowd, Cavan Garda Station, said Sarah had no pulse when he arrived at the scene.

She was pronounced dead at 2.36pm.

Garda Aidan Dardis, Ballistics Section, Garda Technical Bureau, said that while there is a safety mechanism on the gun, when the gun is dropped on the top rib it doesn’t work, because of a generic design fault.

After summing up the evidence, the Coroner stated the DPP had found no evidence for charges to be brought against Alan Blakely and suggested the verdict of accidental death to the jury. After a brief adjournment, the jury returned the verdict with the rider.

Meanwhile, the inquest into the death of Rose Duke in Cavan General Hospital in late 2003 has been adjourned until October 18, so that a file for the DPP can be completed.

The inquest was opened in June 2006 but adjourned to yesterday for the gardaí to prepare the file for the DPP.