Inquest into violent death of Dublin woman adjourned due to criminal investigation

A woman who suffered a violent death in her home in north Dublin earlier this summer had been strangled and stabbed repeatedly, an inquest has heard.

A major Garda investigation was launched after the body of Lisa Thompson (52) was discovered in her home at Sandyhill Gardens, Ballymun, on May 10th this year.

A preliminary hearing of the inquest into the death of Ms Thompson at Dublin District Coroner’s Court on Wednesday was informed by the coroner, Aisling Gannon, that the results of a post-mortem showed that the victim had died as a result of “ligature strangulation and multiple stab wounds”.

A sister of the deceased, Ashley Duckett, gave evidence of identifying her late sister’s body at Dublin City Morgue in Whitehall on the day after her remains had been found.

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Ms Duckett said she recognised her sister who was lying on a bed covered in a blanket but added that her face was “very blue”.

The mother of two and former youth worker, who had lived on her own in the terraced house in Sandyhill Gardens, was last seen alive two days before a neighbour raised the alarm by dialling 999 and calling for assistance from an ambulance crew.

Paramedics who arrived at the house discovered Ms Thompson’s remains and alerted gardaí.

Detective Inspector Jim McDermott told the coroner that Ms Thompson’s death was the subject of a criminal investigation.

Det Insp McDermott said a file on the investigation had been sent to the DPP and a person was already before the courts in relation to the matter.

Brian McHugh (37), an unemployed man from Cairn Court, Ballymun, was charged with Ms Thompson’s murder at her home on May 10, 2022 when he appeared before a sitting of Dublin District Court in July.

McHugh, who was subsequently remanded in custody, has not yet indicated how he intends to plead to the charge.

Det Insp McDermott informed the coroner that gardaí were also awaiting directions from the DPP in relation to possible charges being brought against a second individual over the circumstances of Ms Thompson’s death.

As a consequence, he applied for an open-ended adjournment of the inquest under Section 25 of the Coroners Act.

Det Insp McDermott said he would notify the coroner of any developments in the case and when any criminal proceedings had concluded which would allow the inquest to go ahead.

Ms Gannon granted the application and adjourned the inquest until a date to be fixed in the future.