Two women stabbed to death in a community care home in Grangegorman had received more than 30 wounds each, the Dublin City Coroner's Court heard yesterday. Some of the wounds were inflicted on one victim after death.
Ms Sylvia Shields (58) and Ms Mary Callinan (61), were low-dependance psychiatric patients who lived in a house attached to St Brendan's psychiatric hospital in Dublin.
Their bodies were found in their bedrooms on the morning of March 7th, 1997 after the alarm was raised by another house occupant, Mrs Anne Lynch (then Ms Anne Mernagh).
Mrs Lynch told the coroner's court that she last saw both women together at about 7.45 p.m. on March 6th before she went to bingo. She later saw Ms Shields in her bedroom at 11.40 p.m. when she asked her to give her a wake-up call in the morning.
Mrs Lynch wore her personal cassette headphones and did not wake up until 6 a.m. on March 7th.
When she went downstairs, she found the contents of her bag at the foot of the stairs and discovered that the kitchen drawers had been pulled out. She went upstairs and entered Ms Shields's room to find her lying across the bed with her legs hanging down.
She recalled saying to her "it's in the bed you should be, not lying across it". Then she saw that Ms Shields's throat had been cut. "I got such a shock. I put my hand on her, she was stone cold."
She had not heard anything unusual during the night. "I didn't see nobody. I didn't hear anybody," she said. It was only afterwards that she learned that blood had been found on her carpet.
The State pathologist, Prof John Harbison, told the court that both women had died from shock and haemorrhage.
In Ms Shield's case, the bleeding was caused by "multiple stab wounds to the neck and chest", Prof Harbison said.
Ms Callinan's bleeding was caused by "multiple sharp weapon injuries to the head, neck and chest".
Ms Shields's sister, Mrs Stella Nolan, was the only member of the victims' families at the hearing and she left the court during Prof Harbison's evidence. The inquest heard that Ms Callinan did not have any surviving relatives.
Prof Harbison detailed stab wounds, abrasions and bruising on the women's faces, breasts, abdomens and genital areas.
Ms Shields's throat had been cut and her injuries would have rendered her unconscious at an early stage, Prof Harbison said.
Ms Callinan's face had been so severely damaged that she was unrecognisable, according to Ms Mary Cullity, the assistant chief nursing officer who viewed the bodies.
Several ribs had been fractured and some wounds around her pelvic area had been inflicted after death, Dr Harbison said.
Two knives had been recovered at the scene, Det Sgt Eugene Gilligan told the inquest. The blade of one large knife had been bent to a 180 degree angle. The blade of the smaller knife was also bent and its timber handle had been broken.
Information given to the inquest suggested that the women had died sometime between 11.40 p.mand 1.20 p.m.
Dr James Moloneysaid it appeared the women were dead for between six and 12 hours when he viewed the bodies at 7.20 a.m.
