Dwyer verdict surprised pathologist

State pathologist Marie Cassidy has said that she was surprised at the jury’s guilty verdict in the Graham Dwyer murder trial, based on the lack of pathological evidence.

Speaking after a presentation to staff and medical students at the Post Graduate Centre at University Hospital Limerick, Dr Cassidy described the case as “fascinating” when she was asked her medical opinion of the two-month trial that gripped the nation in March.

She said she was not only surprised the DPP went ahead with a case, given the lack of pathology evidence, but also that Dwyer was found guilty.

Dr Cassidy recalled examining the remains of Elaine O’Hara, along with her other colleagues.

“We knew there was no pathology evidence to support anything so it came to what other evidence did they have, and it’s up to them to make a case and to present this case, and if they think the case is going to stand up in court, then the DPP will go ahead with it,” she said.

“In that case, I thought no, they will not go ahead with it... And then when we were waiting for the verdict coming in I said, it has to be not guilty.”

During her presentation, ‘Trust me I’m a Forensic Scientist’, Dr Cassidy welcomed defence autopsies, where a second autopsy is carried out by another forensic pathologist in cases of murder or homicides.

“One of the most useful things and probably keeping us in check and making sure that things are done properly is the defence autopsy,” she said.

“In most cases now where there has been a homicide or a murder there will be a second autopsy carried out by another forensic pathologists. Safeguards and checks are a marvellous thing.”

According to Dr Cassidy, some pathologists say they do not like people checking over their work. However, she said the process was “a marvellous thing from everybody’s point of view”.

“People are looking for two very different things,” she said. “If you have a defence autopsy, it means then you’ve got someone coming in and checking to make sure you have got the facts right and then also reviewing our opinion and saying ‘is that a fair enough thing to say?’

“And that is a great thing to be doing and I welcome it. It took a long time for them to get it going here but now they are used to having it done... and that means we have got to make sure when we say something we can stand over it and we can stand by our opinion.”

Prior to her appointment as State pathologist in Ireland in 1998, Dr Cassidy worked in the forensic department at Glasgow University.

As part of her forensic work she has been involved with the UN since the mid 1990s.

She has travelled to Bosnia several times, as well as to Croatia and latterly to Sierra Leone as part of a team involved in the investigation of war crimes.