Student victim's body exhumed in Clare 'cold case' murder probe

An exhumation has begun in Co Clare this morning as gardaí search for new evidence in a five-year-old murder inquiry.

The body of 23-year-old Emer O'Loughlin was discovered in a burnt-out caravan on the Galway-Clare Border in April 2005.

A suspect identified in subsequent investigations has never been found.

The Garda Cold Case Unit has been reviewing investigations into the GMIT student's death over the past year.

Today forensic officers have been sanctioned by the Minister for Justice through an order issued by the Clare County Coroner to exhume her remains.

At 7am this morning, the scene at Ennistymon New Cemetery was cordoned off as the serious crime review team and the Forensic State Pathologist began the process of carrying out the exhumation.

Garda sources say they hope to enhance prospective forensic evidence opportunities, and family consent has been obtained.

GMIT Art student Emer O'Loughlin lived in a caravan in the Ballybornagh area between Tubber in Clare and Kinvara in Co Galway. It took days to identify her badly burned remains in April of 2005.

Gort Gardaí made appeals for information regarding a male suspect. The man in question has never been found.