HSE to review Melissa case after verdict
Ronald McManus, also known as Ronnie Dunbar, was also found not guilty of threatening to kill his daughter by the jury of six men and six women at the Central Criminal Court.
Melissa went missing from the care of the HSE on September 14, 2006. Her skeletal remains were found by gardaí on the shore of Lough Gill in February 2008 after the accused man’s daughter spoke to gardaí.
Yesterday, a spokesperson for the HSE said “a case management review as part of routine procedure and provided for under the Children First National Guidelines for the Protection and Welfare of Children 1999 will now be carried out”.
The HSE was precluded from commencing this review until the legal proceedings surrounding this case were completed.
The review will be finalised within weeks, the spokesperson said.
Melissa Mahon’s family showed no reaction as the verdict was read out and they left the court without speaking to the media.
Mr Justice White exempted the jury from further service for life and described this case as “distasteful, sordid and squalid”.
McManus, who denied murdering Melissa, will be sentenced on July 6.
The trial heard Melissa, who was believed to be pregnant at the time of her death, had begun a relationship with McManus who allowed her to hide from gardaí and social workers in a vacant house next door to his.
The trial lasted 25 days and the jury reached a unanimous decision after five and a half hours’ deliberation over three days.
