Identification of Human Remains in Wexford

On the 3rd April 2010, a human skull was found in the nets of the ‘WILLIE B’, trawler fishing off the coast of Wexford. The skipper reported the discovery to local Gardaí.  On the 4th April Detective Garda Gerard Kealy of the Wexford Crime Scene Investigation Unit met the trawler at Kilmore Quay.

On the 6th April, a post mortem was carried out by the state pathologist. Detective Garda Kealy took the skull to UCD for a process called maceration to be carried out.

Detective Garda Kealy then gathered all the test results, including the facial reconstruction and DNA and sent them to Interpol.

As a result of this a short time later a possible candidate was nominated as a woman missing from Wales. A photograph of that woman was obtained and Detective Garda Kealy returned to Dundee where they superimposed the photo of the woman onto the reconstructed image. It was a match.

The Welsh police sent a liaison officer to her family to give them the news. The circumstances of the death of the deceased were that in early December 2009, she was walking on a cliff path in fading light and fell into the sea. A local undertaker donated a coffin and the woman was returned to her family for burial.
 
Gardaí at Wexford Garda Station are investigating          Telephone 053 9165200