Savage murder 'leaves town suspended in disbelief'

The savage murder of pensioner Annie McCartan on her 75th birthday has left the quiet Northern Ireland harbour town she lived in suspended in disbelief, her funeral was told today.

As police prepared to stage a reconstruction of events before her murder in Warrenpoint, Co Down exactly a week ago, Canon John Kearney told mourners at St Peter’s Church her unexpected and tragic death had turned their world upside down.

“I am very much aware that words are inadequate to temper our grief or begin to heal the pain being so keenly felt in this church today,” Canon Kearney said.

“And yet we have to talk as we have been talking over the last few days.

“Since Annie died we have all been telling stories, asking questions and getting no answers.

“For so many people in this church today the death of Annie on this day week has turned their world upside down.

“We are shocked as individuals and we were visibly shaken as a community when we learned about the unexpected and tragic death of someone who lived among us and was known to so many.”

Mrs McCartan, a mother of 13, was stabbed and beaten in her Summer Hill home a week ago.

Her body was found by two of her sons.

Police were today staging a reconstruction of Mrs McCartan’s last known movements.

On Saturday, Detective Superintendent Tim Hanley described the murder as barbaric and appealed for members of the public to help them track down the killer, whose clothes, police believe, would have been soaked with blood.

“I have been a police officer for 19 years and it must be one of the worst murder scenes I have ever encountered – it was really bad,” he said.

Mr Hanley also observed: “It would appear that Mrs McCartan was brutally beaten and then repeatedly stabbed in her own home.

“I have no doubt that the person who carried out this horrendous murder would have been covered extensively in blood.

“That person had to have left the house, they would have had to go somewhere to get cleaned up. This crime occurred in broad daylight we believe some time from 3pm onwards.”

A woman wearing clothing similar to Mrs McCartan will walk along the Summer Hill Road at about 2.20pm as part of the reconstruction.

Police patrols in the area have been stepped up in an attempt to reassure local people.