THREE DAYS before she died Manuela Riedo arrived in Ireland for a two-week break as part of a group of 43 pupils and two teachers. She stayed with a family in Renmore, outside Galway city.
The court heard she walked into Galway city on Sunday afternoon with her friend Azaria Maurer and that they walked back to Renmore that evening along “The Line”, a shortcut along a railway track.
Manuela met Azaria that night and they went to the King’s Head pub. They met again on Monday morning and walked along The Line to language school, and that afternoon went to the King’s Head and met their friends.
That evening they walked back to Renmore to their hosts’ homes, after arranging to meet again that night in the King’s Head. The court heard this was the last time Azaria saw Manuela. Martin Tierney, father of the host family with whom Manuela stayed, told the court Manuela showed him a map of Galway on the Monday, before she was murdered.
He said he “advised her against walking into town by the railway”. Teacher Christian Klingle, who was on the trip, alerted gardaí after Ms Riedo did not respond to calls or text messages. Her body was found that night. She was naked from the waist down, partially covered by her coat. Her clothes were scattered in bushes.
State Pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy said Manuela had been strangled. She told the jury Ms Riedo had head injuries which may have been inflicted while she was on the ground. There was also an “unusual” injury to Manuela’s left groin where a piece of skin had been “removed using a sharp object, most likely a knife”.
Manuela suffered a bump and laceration to the back of the head, as well as superficial lacerations, small tears and an abrasion around the opening of the vagina.
Gardaí found a used condom “snagged on a bush”. Barry’s DNA was found inside the condom in forensic tests. DNA from both Barry and Ms Riedo were found on the outside of the condom.
Eight days after the murder, Barry gave a statement to gardaí. He denied being near the area where Manuela’s body was found.
However, records of mobile phone traffic related to Barry’s number showed calls from his phone bounced off a mast in the area of Lough Atalia – close to where Manuela’s body was found – on the night of her death.
A text message from Barry’s number was routed through a mast at Flannery’s Hotel in Renmore at 6.56pm. Another was routed through it three minutes later. Another text was sent from the number at 7.08pm, this time routed through a mast at Harris House, north of Flannery’s Hotel.
Four minutes later another text was routed through the mast at Flannery’s. The next two calls from Barry’s handset were routed through a mast at Lough Atalia. Barry’s brother told the court he met him outside Supermac’s that night after 8pm.
During the trial, Barry admitted killing Ms Riedo but claimed her death was “accidental”. The couple had consensual sex, he claimed, and he had put his arm around her neck when she sought to leave. Ms Riedo’s family described Barry’s claims as lies.
He pleaded guilty to stealing a camera and a mobile phone. Gardaí found an Olympus camera in the room where Barry had been sleeping in Rosán Glas, Galway.
Barry sold Ms Riedo’s mobile phone for €30. It was sold on to another man whose father handed it to gardaí when he realised there were foreign language text messages on it. The phone was identified by Ms Riedo’s mother Arlette.
Martin Giblin, Barry’s counsel, admitted Barry was “an extremely incompetent individual”.