Priest says NI teen's murder 'pure evil'

The murder of a teenage girl whose half naked body was found at a beauty spot was today branded as “pure evil“.

The body of the 16-year-old, named locally as Megan McAlorum, was discovered near Belfast, in an area of forest, quarries and lakes half a mile from the Glenside Road, Dunmurry late yesterday.

Some of her clothing had been removed and detectives probing the killing were attempting to establish whether any sex attack was involved.

A post-mortem examination is expected to be carried out later in the day.

Local priest Fr John Forsythe was taken to the scene to give the last rites to the girl before trying to comfort her grieving parents, Frankie and Margaret.

He said: “They are absolutely distraught and shattered, all they want is their daughter back again.”

Fr Forsythe said the couple had six other children and they were all “united in uncontrollable grief in the face of pure evil“.

He went with police to the isolated spot outside Belfast where Megan's body was found.

“It is a beautiful area – lakes, beautiful views of the city – and yet you could not call it peaceful because of the evil which has touched the site, it’s an absolute tragedy,” he said.

The body was found by children from a travellers’ camp in the area when they were out on the hillside looking for their horses.

“They went to get their father and he went to the body, put a coat over it and informed the police,” said Fr Forsythe.

Police were called in when Megan’s parents reported her missing following a night out.

One security source said: “We don’t know at this stage whether there was a sexual assault or not, but there is no doubt we are dealing with the murder of a young female.”

She went out on Sunday night socialising in the area, he said, but never made it home.

Megan, of Glencolin Way in the Lenadoon area of the city, had been working in a bar. She had recently left St Genevieve’s High School in west Belfast and had been due to go to college in September to study childcare

The killing has plunged an entire community into a state of shock and anger, according to a councillor for the area.

Sinn Féin representative Gerard O’Neill said: “This is a terrible horror that has fallen upon that family. There’s just total shock locally that this type of thing can happen.”

Patricia Lewsley, SDLP Assembly member for the area where the body was found, said the killer had to be found and appealed for anyone with information to contact police.

Ms Lewsley said: “You think that at this time young people can go out and be with their friends and you hope that they come home safely – in this case this young girl didn’t.”

She said it was “such a tragedy and trauma” for her family.

“Why would somebody want to do this? The important thing is that whoever did this has to be caught.”