Sisters found guilty of killing mother's African boyfriend

A substantial reward was paid to a person who helped solve the case of the murdered African man whose decapitated body was found in Dublin's Royal Canal, it was confirmed today.

Crimestoppers said it had paid a cash sum to a friend of the deceased Kenyan man who had responded to an appeal for information in a newspaper for members of the African community.

The dismembered body of 38-year-old Sheilila Salim, who was also known as Farah Swaleh Noor, was found in the Royal Canal in Dublin on March 30 last year.

A jury in the Central Criminal Court trial today found Charlotte Mulhall, 23, guilty of his murder, while her sister Linda Mulhall, 31, both from Kilcare Gardens, Tallaght, Co Dublin, was found guilty of manslaughter.

The trial heard he was in a relationship with the mother of the two women.

After the dismembered body was discovered in the canal at Ballybough Bridge in March 2005, Crimestoppers teamed up with gardai to appeal for information about the murder. A substantial cash reward was offered for specific information leading to the identification of the victim and person or persons responsible for his death.

Inspector Christy Mangan from Fitzgibbon Street Garda Station, said: "For a variety of reasons this was a particularly difficult incident to resolve right from establishing the identity of the victim through to bringing a prosecution before the Courts".

"There is no doubt that Crimestoppers assistance was hugely beneficial to the Gardaí in bringing this investigation to where we are today. I would like to compliment Crimestoppers for their invaluable support, assistance and initiative in this investigation."

As part of the Crimestoppers campaign, leaflets were produced in a number of African languages with a picture of the Irish soccer jersey that the deceased was wearing and a physical description of him.

The leaflets were given out around the country by gardai and sent to the media, including, newspapers read specifically by the African community in Ireland.

Crimestoppers spokeswoman, Paula Eager, said: "Reaching out to minority ethnic communities is very difficult. In this case, the Gardaí needed to let as many people as possible know that a body had been found and that they required any information at all that might help them lead to the identification of the victim, find the remaining parts of his body and or any information relating to the murder itself.

"The success of this appeal demonstrates how valuable the Crimestoppers service is in cases were people have information but are either too afraid to come forward with it or who do not know where to go with the information they have."

Crimestoppers was set up in 1998 by the Dublin Chamber of Commerce and the Gardaí. It allows members of the public who have information about a crime but do not feel they can go directly to gardai due to fear or recrimination to call a freephone number 1800 25 00 25.

Callers who give information that leads to an arrest may be entitled to a cash reward.