Jill’s death ‘has brought communities together’

The murder of Irishwoman Jill Meagher in Australia has brought the people of her hometowns closer, it was claimed yesterday.

Jill was killed in September after a night out with friends in a suburb of Melbourne, where she lived.

Adrian Ernest Bayley, 41, last week pleaded guilty to the rape and murder of the Drogheda native, 29.

The mayor of Drogheda, Paul Bell, said everyone in the area is behind her family in their fight for justice.

“I am relieved that Jill’s husband, mother, and father, and all her relations and friends, will not be put through the public hearing of evidence of how Jill met her death,” said Mr Bell.

“But I am sure that this development will not address the pain and sadness which Jill’s family and friends suffer every day.

“If there is anything positive to come from Jill’s tragic death, it is that she inspired the people of Melbourne to take to the streets of her adopted homeland and demand change to ensure that no other citizen suffers in such a way.

“Her death has also brought the citizens of Drogheda, Melbourne, and Moreland into a close and unbreakable friendship and I wish to thank the citizens of Melbourne and all Australia for their support.”

Mr Bell thanked the people of Drogheda and Irish citizens in Australia for their support of Jill’s husband Tom and her parents George and Edith McKeon, who all reside in Australia.

“I would also like to extend my gratitude to the Australian police for their relentless and committed investigative work,” he said.