Jastine Valdez’s killer died of gunshot wound to arm and chest, inquest hears

The killer of student Jastine Valdez (24) died from a gunshot wound to his arm and chest.

Mark Hennessy (40) was shot by a garda as he sat in his car at Cherrywood Business Park, Co Dublin on May 20th.

He had abducted Ms Valdez, who was from the Philippines, from the roadside just outside Enniskerry, Co Wicklow the previous evening before murdering her.

Family members including Mr Hennessy’s parents attended the opening of an inquest into his death at Dublin Coroner’s Court.

Mr Hennessy’s father Michael Hennessy stood in the witness box as evidence of how he identified the body of his son was read out in court.

"On May 21 2018 at 4.25pm in Dublin City Morgue I formally identified the body of my son to Sergeant Georgina Reilly, " Mr Hennessy said in his deposition.

An autopsy was conducted by Deputy State Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan on May 21st.

The cause of death was given as a gunshot wound to the arm/chest.

The matter was referred to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission and Senior Investigations Officer Nicholas Harden said he was seeking a six-month adjournment to allow investigations continue.

Mr Harden confirmed to coroner Dr Myra Cullinane that criminal proceedings are possible later and applied to the court for a copy of the postmortem report.

Dr Cullinane adjourned the inquest for further mention on June 6th, 2019 and extended condolences to Mr Hennessy’s family.

“It is never easy for anyone to come to this court and very difficult for you,” the coroner said.