INTERVIEW:MURDER-SUICIDES in families have become increasingly common over the past seven years, according to Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis.
Dr Curtis said he had been struck by the numbers of murder-suicides in families in Ireland since he took up his current position in 2004.
And while there were no statistics available, he said his impression was there had been a growth in these “family tragedies”.
“I am aware that they have happened elsewhere since my coming to Ireland, but I had personally never dealt with them before I came to Ireland.
“Now I’m dealing with them on a frighteningly regular basis. It’s alarming,” he said.
“Considering the size of the population of this country, they are frighteningly common,” said the British forensic pathologist, who has worked in Glasgow, Sydney and Belfast.
Dr Curtis said he has dealt with one such “extremely tragic incident” every 18 months or so, on average.
“For me they are almost an annual event. They are obviously deeply distressing cases,” he said.
“I can’t explain them. I can offer no explanation whatsoever, but they are enormous tragedies.”
Among the tragic cases the Deputy State Pathologist has encountered are the deaths of Adrian Dunne, his wife Ciara and their two daughters, Leanne (5) and Shania (3) in Monageer, Co Wexford.
Dunne was found hanged, his wife strangled and the girls suffocated in their home in April 2007.
Another case was that of John Butler (43), from Ballycotton, Co Cork, who died after crashing his car into a ditch on November 16th, 2010.
His six-year-old daughter Zoe was found strangled and his two-year-old daughter Ella suffocated at home on the same date.
Dr Curtis said firearm deaths continue to account for about half of all homicides in the State.
“There’s been an awful lot of shootings in the beginning of this year . . . It’s quite a big chunk of the work we do – firearm injuries.
“My job would be to X-ray the body, reconcile the number of entry wounds with the number of exit wounds or bullets left in the body, and retrieve any projectiles there without damaging them – without scratching them . . .
“We would take the samples from the body for DNA, to match them to anything on the weapon.”
Dr Curtis said the job would be a lot easier if the pathologists had a purpose-built forensic facility equipped with X-ray and CT scanner.
The State Pathologist’s office currently comprises two Portakabins at the Fire Bridge Training Centre, Marino, Dublin. There is no dedicated State pathologist’s mortuary, and Dr Curtis and his colleagues carry out postmortems at the nearby Dublin district mortuary, or at hospitals.
For shooting victims, where X-rays of remains are mandatory, the pathologists must book a slot in a hospital.
Work commenced on a €13.8 million “medico-legal centre” which was to include facilities for the Dublin district mortuary and staff in the State Pathologist’s office, located on the fire brigade centre grounds in August 2010.
However, the work came to a stop just three months later after a receiver was appointed to the builders.
The project was a joint venture between the Department of Justice and Dublin City Council.
Dr Curtis said his team had everything they needed to do the job and their office accommodation was “comfortable” and “adequate”, but that a purpose-built facility would allow them “to do everything under one roof and give us immediate access to the facilities”.
“It’s not ideal. The conditions can be challenging here at times – where there is noisy fire brigade training going on with machinery – it can interfere with concentration and examinations. Really, it’s not the best environment.
“We need new facilities. Our employers recognise that, but it’s just that the financial world has crashed around us.”
According to a spokeswoman for the Department of Justice, the funds for the continued development of the current site are no longer available.
She said both the department and Dublin City Council were examining alternatives.
A spokesman for Dublin City Council said options for the project were currently being considered in light of reduced funding.