Clarissa's Cause: Mum's campaign to exhume daughter takes step forward

US-based Rebecca Saunders is seeking an exhumation so that she can have her remains taken to the US to be near her.

A mother who is campaigning to have her little girl’s remains removed from the coffin of the man who killed her has said the process has moved to the next stage.

Rebecca Saunders wants to bring her daughter Clarissa's remains back to the US where she now lives.

Her beloved three-year-old daughter was killed when her father, Rebecca’s then husband Martin McCarthy, walked into the water at Audley Cove, West Cork, drowning the little girl and then himself on March 5, 2013.

In a haze of grief and shock, Rebecca allowed Clarissa to be buried in her father’s arms.

But almost since the coffin closed, she has regretted that decision.

Rebecca first spoke publicly to the Irish Examiner about how difficult it was to have her precious daughter Clarissa McCarthy – her only child at the time – buried in the same coffin as the man who killed her.

A public swell of support last year saw more than $53,770 (€44,555) raised to help Rebecca exhume Clarissa’s body and bring her remains home with her to America.

Clarissa McCarthy

Today, Rebecca shared an update on her application for an exhumation license.

"Just got word from Cork County Council that they are satisfied with the assistance we have sought out from forensic anthropologist Dr René Gapert and they are moving my application for an exhumation license to the next stage," she wrote on social media.

The update was posted alongside a photo of Clarissa sitting on a bed with a story book.

"Valentine's Day 10 years ago! My little blue eyes sweetheart with her Bunny and Bee book," Rebecca commented.

How and why exhumations happen 

Although not common, exhumations can be permitted. A court can order an exhumation as part of a criminal investigation.

Individuals can request that a loved one be exhumed and reinterred elsewhere under the Local Government Sanitary Services Act 1948 which was amended by the Local Government Act 1994.

An application must be made to the local authority where the graveyard is located. If accepted, the local authority will grant an exhumation licence.

If the local council refuses an exhumation licence there is no appeals process other than through the courts.

Cork County Council charges no fee to apply for an exhumation licence although it did not say how much an exhumation would cost.

Costs for the exhumation are set by the individual local authorities and are believed to range from about €450 to €1,000.

Exhumed remains can be taken abroad, but all bodies must be reburied or cremated within 48 hours of the exhumation. An environmental health officer must attend the exhumation to ensure privacy and protect public health.

An exhumation licence can be refused on a number of grounds, including the following:

• If the consent of the next of kin has not been given;
• If the person died very recently;
• If the remains lie unidentified in a common plot;
• If due respect to the person who died cannot be guaranteed;
• If the remains to be exhumed are located below a body that is not to be exhumed.

- If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please click here for a list of support services.