Young woman's death 'invisible on both sides of the border' as family remains without answers

Julieanne Lynch with a picture of her daughter Kelly Marie, who was found dead on St Patrick's Day 2024. Ms Lynch said despite a peer review examining three reports into her death, the family remain 'completely in the dark' about any possible outcome. File picture 

The mother of a young woman who died in a canal in Monaghan has said her daughter’s death is “invisible on both sides of the border” despite a new report stating it was “violent physical assault”.

The body of Kelly Marie Lynch, aged 23, was discovered in the Ulster Canal on St Patrick’s Day 2024.

Her death was described by the State pathologist as death by drowning after she wandered off alone and fell off a bridge.

However, her family believes something more sinister took place.

Kelly Marie’s mother Julieanne Lynch said despite a peer review examining three reports into her death, they remain “completely in the dark” about any possible outcome.

Mrs Lynch said: “Nothing at all has taken place in the north in relation to her death, but in the south, I know the chief State pathologist held a meeting last month, but we were not privy to it. A peer review is happening, but I know nothing. It’s so frustrating.

“I’ve also asked the Minister for Justice (Jim O'Callaghan) to meet with us, but I am not getting any satisfaction there at all. He keeps declining to meet me.

“I’ve also written to Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly, and he won’t meet me either. Everything is just passed on, and I also wrote to the Taoiseach. 

I am getting nowhere. It’s like her death is invisible on both sides of the border.

There were 93 separate injuries on Kelly Marie’s body when she died, and the State pathology here said her death was due to drowning, while a pathologist in Northern Ireland said the young woman died from hypothermia.

The Lynch family, from Gilford in Co Armagh, has never accepted these outcomes and instead, commissioned a third report after they engaged the help of The Katie Trust.

This desktop report by a pathologist in the US concluded she did not drown and did not succumb to the effects of hypothermia and that it was due to a “violent physical assault”.

“Our solicitor has submitted everything into the peer review and now we are waiting but it is affecting all of us more and more, including the younger children now.

“I understand this is a slow process, but we are coming up to her two-year anniversary.

“We are literally stuck in limbo and my youngest was asking me last night why she died and had so many questions about what she looks like now."

'Failed by the State'

Mrs Lynch said her daughter’s clothes were not forensically examined in the aftermath of her death but following her campaign for exact details surrounding her daughter’s death, her clothes and shoes were reviewed again.

“All I can say about that now is there was never any originally forensic testing on Kelly’s clothes, a report states there was, but we have that on record now, that they were not. But they have been since we asked for that to be done and the results are gone to the peer review.

“We stand firmly by our stance that Kelly Marie was failed massively by the State. 

“We have been asking the same questions for two years, why wasn’t her death investigated as suspicious from the outset?

“A young woman doesn’t just randomly die and have the injuries that she had, and is there someone walking around now that is responsible? There are many unanswered questions.”

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