Elaine O’Hara: A lonely search for more than sex

Elaine O’Hara had a deep and disturbing interest in the world of submissive relationships, but her real-life interactions were sporadic and seldom lasted long, reports Noel Baker.

ELAINE O’Hara’s troubled and tragic life included a secret online persona through which she sought relations with men — yet even here, amidst her apparent desire for physical pain, she hinted at wanting a different life.

The trial of Graham Dwyer heard details of her alternative life online, and that, for some of the men she met through fetish and BDSM sites, either her sexual tastes or her obvious vulnerability resulted in only shortlived and fleeting contact.