Tests fail to dash family’s hopes of inheriting €160m
But it has taken yet another twist, which the Cork family hope will finally provide them with the ultimate proof of their right to the estate of a wealthy American recluse, Ellen O’Regan.
She emigrated to America in the late 1800s and married a retired policeman who amassed a fortune in property in Savannah, Georgia.
The couple had four daughters who died without producing heirs.
Dermot O’Regan, who owns O’Regan Precast in Ovens, Co Cork, was convinced Ms O’Regan was his great-aunt and that he was her closest living relative.
He has spent 20 years and a small fortune trying to prove it.
And a renowned genealogist provided a paper trail, which significantly bolstered his belief.
The Corkman won the right to exhume Ms O’Regan’s remains from the Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah.
A DNA comparison was made between her and Dermot’s grandfather, Jeremiah, whose body was exhumed from St Finbarr’s Cemetery, Cork on May 13, 2004.
The tests proved inconclusive, but the family were allowed to keep bone slivers and have submitted them for further expert tests.
Dermot’s son, Louis, who stands to inherit a lot of money if the case is successful, confirmed yesterday that bone samples had been forwarded to a professor of forensic anthropology in Belgium.
“We have also employed Forensic Access, a company based in England which helps the British Police on a number of cases. Their practising manager, Colin Spooner, was sent out by British Police to help their American counterparts in the OJ Simpson case,” Louis O’Regan said.
He said Forensic Access had already studied the case and believe the O’Regan’s claim looks to be accurate.
However, it will take more tests before they can go back to court with any hope of winning.
If they get the right result they will still have to prove their case and would be up against a group of Atlanta lawyers who distributed the estate to a number of other people.
“It really was a shock and a surprise when the bodies were exhumed in 2004 and the DNA didn’t prove conclusive.
“As a family we have been working on this for many years and we’re determined to see it through,” Louis said.
