Death of woman in Monaghan was homicide - forensic report
A new forensic report into the death of a young woman in a Monaghan canal concludes she died of a violent physical assault despite gardaí treating her death as a tragic accident.
Kelly Lynch, 23, was discovered in the Ulster Canal in Monaghan town on St Patrick's day 2024. Gardaí believe she wandered off alone and fell from a bridge into the canal and are not treating her death as suspicious.
However, the Lisnakea woman was found with 93 different injuries to her body, and her family have pushed for a murder investigation into her death.
A privately funded forensic report - seen by RTÉ's Drivetime - has found Ms Lynch was victim of a homicide and had some injuries inflicted after her death.
An initial post-mortem found she had died of drowning while a second examination concluded she died of hypothermia.
Sinn Féin Justice Spokesperson & Cavan-Monaghan TD Matt Carthy believes the new report should prompt gardaí to re-open their investigation and is to ask the Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan to meet the Lynch family
The young woman was found around 30 hours after she had been last seen outside a national school around 400 yards from the canal where she was discovered. She was on her way home from a night socialising with her boyfriend and his friends.
The Katie Trust is spearheaded by retired PSNI Detective James Brannigan
Last summer, the Lynch family sought help from the Katie Trust - a charity which investigates so-called 'hidden homicides'; cases where people have been found dead and families have suspicions over what exactly happened to them.
The charity is spearheaded by retired PSNI Detective James Brannigan - who was instrumental in solving the murder of showjumper Katie Simpson, which was initially treated as a suicide.
The charity commissioned a special forensic report into Kelly Lynch's death.
"As a result of the injuries Kelly suffered, we consulted with a pathologist based in America, but who had been trained in Ireland and has extensive experience. He has done an in-depth report into the injuries sustained by Kelly by looking at the scene photographs, post-mortem photographs and post-mortem reports already completed," said Mr. Brannigan to RTÉ's Drivetime.
"He has explained in great detail the injuries she has sustained and how he believes they were caused to Kelly. Some of these injuries were inflicted on Kelly after she has died, which is quite concerning. Most notably, a fracture to her T-10 vertebrae and also a wound to her head. He has also outlined to us how she died and it shows to us there has been third-party involvement in Kelly's death," he said.
"There are numerous marks on her body which are not conducive with falling off a bridge or not conducive with drowning. She has defensive wounds too. As a homicide detective, I have grave concerns over this incident."
Mr. Brannigan said the report also notes how there was no water found in Ms Lynch’s lungs despite drowning being proffered previously as a potential cause of death.
"You'd expect water to be based in the body if she had been submerged by water. Gardaí had said she was submerged in water. We have supplied the report to the garda investigation team and it's over to them now.
"This report aside, there are a lot of questions that still remain about how Kelly ended up in the canal, how she was found, why was her phone not water damaged - there is so much more work that needs to be done in this investigation."
Ms. Lynch's parents have previously spoken of having 14 points of concern about the initial garda investigation into their daughter's death. In October 2024, then Garda Commissioner Drew Harris initiated a peer review of the original investigation. This is not a re-opening of the case but rather examination of the original investigation to identify if there are any potential additional lines of enquiry.
This review is still ongoing.
Sinn Féin Justice spokesperson and Cavan-Monaghan TD Matt Carthy wants the Minister for Justice to meet the Lynch family and believes gardaí should re-examine the case.
"I think the issues that have been raised and highlighted by what we know to be in this report are of such seriousness, that I believe it is imperative the gardaí engage directly with the Lynch family to ensure they have full confidence that everything is being done to ensure the full truth of what happened on St. Patrick's Day 2024 is actually asserted," he said.
"From the evidence I have seen, I think there is a very strong argument for a re-opening of the garda investigation. I believe the new evidence put forward and the garda review may very well lead to a re-examination of the case."
Listen to Barry Lenihan's Drivetime report here:
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The Lynch family is concerned that the area where Kelly Lynch was found was not preserved as a crime scene straight away. They also believe not enough was done to immediately retrieve CCTV from the vicinity of the canal where her body was discovered and so potentially vital evidence was lost.
The Lynch family has also asked gardaí to re-examine potential traces of blood found on the young woman's clothing. Those with her the night she was last seen were not interviewed by gardaí until three weeks after her death while a public appeal for information was not made until a year later. The Lynch family has made a complaint to the Police Ombudsman, Fiosrú.
"Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and Chief Superintendent Alan McGovern, Louth-Cavan-Monaghan Division, met with the family of Ms Kelly Lynch on 21 October 2024, and listened carefully to their concerns," a Garda spokesperson said.
"Following this meeting, Commissioner Harris directed that a Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) from a division external to the Louth-Cavan-Monaghan Division conduct a peer review of the investigation into the death of Ms Lynch. An Garda Síochána is currently conducting that peer review of the original garda investigation. The SIO is keeping the family up to date with the progress of the review. An Garda Síochána is also assisting the Coroner’s Inquest and fully co-operating with a Fiosrú investigation. These processes are ongoing.
"An Garda Síochána appeals to anyone with direct information on the death of Ms Lynch to contact gardaí."
The Katie Trust was established last year and is currently investigating around 50 suspicious deaths potentially overlooked by police. The charity says five cases have already or will be upgraded to homicide investigations.
