DNA tests to verify identity of body

The results of an autopsy carried out yesterday by Dr Michael Curtis, the deputy state pathologist, on the partial remains discovered near Killakee Mountain, indicate that the victim was more than likely female.

However, gardaí said it is expected to take several more days before the results of further DNA tests and checks on dental records would provide confirmation on the identity of the victim.

The discovery of the skeletal remains in a shallow grave by a woman out walking her dog in private woodland, has led to speculation that it might be the body of missing US student, Annie McCarrick who went missing in Mar 1993. The last-known sighting of the 23-year-old American was a few miles away at Johnnie Fox’s pub in Glencullen.

The location of the discovery is also close to where Eva Brennan, 39, who also disappeared 20 years ago, was last seen near her home in Terenure.

Since the discovery on Friday evening, gardaí have been in contact with the families of several missing persons whose cases have been examined by gardaí from Operation Trace as well as the cold case unit of the Serious Crime Review Team in recent years.

A Garda spokesperson said last night that preliminary results revealed the victim had not died recently and had probably been dead in excess of four years. However, it was not possible to give a more precise time or cause of death until further tests were conducted.

Tests on items found near the scene including a sock and a trainer are also being carried out, although detectives have so far been unable to establish a definite link between them and the victim.

Gardaí hope that DNA samples from bones including a tibia (shinbone) and part of the pelvis can be matched with samples from one of 20 women on the Garda’s missing person’s database.

The body was discovered about 200m from the nearby Killakee Road which runs through isolated woodland and mountains between Rathfarnham and Kilcullen.

The location is also close to where several bodies of other missing women who were murdered were discovered over the past three decades.

A Garda spokesperson said investigators were conscious that it was an anxious time for a lot of relatives of missing persons.