The mother of a baby girl stabbed to death and dumped in a plastic bag 34 years ago today said she has finally found peace.
Cynthia Owen, who gave birth to the infant at just 11, said she felt a sense of wholeness when she visited baby Noleen's grave after an inquest jury found she was the child's mother.
Cynthia Owen leaves Dublin County Coroner's Court with her husband Simon last Friday, after the jury found that the murdered baby at the centre of the case was Ms Owen's child.
However, Ms Owen (45), who claimed the baby was born as the result of horrific child abuse, said she can't feel any happiness and renewed her calls for a full inquiry in to the case.
"There was never going to be any winners or losers in this situation," said Ms Owen. "I can't say I feel happy, joy or anything on that level. But yet I'm relieved that the verdict went my way.
"When I went into that room [the inquest] Noleen was my daughter, and when I came out of that room Noleen was still my daughter. So nothing has changed for me. She's still dead and there won't be ever any joy in that.
"I feel for her, but for me I'm still here and I'm going to have to cope with this and what happened to the both of us."
Cynthia Owen
Baby Noleen was discovered by two schoolboys wrapped in newspaper in a plastic bag in Lee's Lane, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, on April 4th, 1974. She had been stabbed around 40 times with a blunt implement.
The baby's inquest was reopened at Dublin County Coroner's Court when Ms Owen came forward over a decade ago claiming to be the mother of the child.
Ms Owen maintained that for seven years she was raped and abused in an incest ring at the family home in White's Villas, Dalkey, and witnessed her daughter being murdered with knitting needles.
No Garda charges have ever been brought. After hearing four days of harrowing evidence, the jury last Friday returned an open verdict. It found the child was Ms Owen's and that Noleen bled to death at the family home.
A number of her siblings and other family members have strongly denied her accusations.
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell has demanded a full report from the Garda into its handling of the investigation into the death of the baby girl and, based on that review, he may convene a public inquiry into the killing of the infant and how gardaí acted.
PA