Murder inquiry launched for Emer

MORE than five years after Emer O’Loughlin’s body was found in a burnt-out caravan on the Clare/Galway border, gardaí have confirmed the young artist was murdered.

Emer’s remains were found on April 8, 2005 in the caravan in a field at Ballybornough near Tubber and since then, gardaí in Gort have been investigating her death.
A murder investigation is now underway. The breakthrough came on Wednesday when the body of the 23-year-old North Clare woman was exhumed and brought to Galway University Hospital. There, following an examination and tests by Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis and forensic anthropologist Dr Lorraine Buckley, gardaí confirmed that Emer was murdered.
Recently, the Garda Serious Crime Review Team, a group that investigates unsolved murders, began a review of the case.
Following this, a senior member of An Garda Síochána informed Clare County Coronor Isobel O’Dea that gardaí had reason to believe Emer may have died in “a violent or unnatural manner”. Ms O’Dea then applied to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to order the exhumation.
The exhumation began at 7am on Wednesday at the new graveyard in Ennistymon and Emer’s remains were transferred to Galway within four hours.
According to gardaí, the application for the exhumation order centred on advances in forensic science, pathology and anthropology since Emer’s death.
“There have been scientific advances since 2005, which we hope to bring to bear on the case,” explained Superintendent Seán Healy of Gort Garda Station.
Superintendent Healy added that the exhumation was carried out with the support of the McLoughlin family.
“Taking a decision of this nature requires the support of the family. It is a very upsetting issue for families and that is appreciated by An Garda Síochána and we approach this with all the sensitivity it requires. It means people have to revisit their grief and we are very cognisant of this. I am very grateful for the help and support of the O’Loughlin family in relation to this,” he said.
While gardaí are hopeful that any new evidence uncovered as a result of Wednesday’s examination will lead to the prosecution of Emer’s killer, they are appealing for anyone with information on the case to come forward.
“Anyone who saw anything in Ballybornough on that day or any person who has any information on this matter whatsoever should ring the gardaí,” he said.
Superintendent Healy also acknowledged the assistance of his colleagues in Clare in the investigation.

Results confirm what family suspected
THE results of tests carried out on the body of Emer O’Loughlin on Wednesday confirmed what her family have believed for the past five years, that the young student was murdered.
Emer’s body was found in a burnt-out caravan close to where she had been living with her boyfriend Shane Bowe in April 2005. She had been attending a portfolio preparation course in Galway but on Friday, April 8, the day she is believed to have been killed, her classes were cancelled for the funeral of Pope John Paul II. 
The Ennistymon woman’s body was found the next day in a caravan adjacent to the one in which she was living. Since then Emer’s family have been fervent in their search for justice.
The O’Loughlin family’s anguish was depicted in the book Living With Murder: Families Left Behind by Yvonne Kinsella and was also the subject of a documentary of the same name shown on TV3.
Last month, on the fifth anniversary of the Emer’s death, her sister Pamela made another appeal for information. Pamela set up a Facebook page designed to catch Emer’s killer. She also posted an audiovisual tribute to Emer which can be viewed on youtube.com/watch?v=Hm5BJKCKPQg.