An inquest into the death of a 20-year-old Ballina woman, whose naked body was discovered in undergrowth in a garden behind a workshop in the town, has found that death was due to strangulation.
Ms Gillian Thornton, of Moy Heights, Ballina, Co Mayo, went missing after attending a disco in the town in the early hours of October 17th, 1998. Her body was later discovered at Abbeyhalfquarter, Ballina, by gardai who carried out an intensive search of the area.
In April of this year, Ballina man Dean William Richardson (22), of Greenhills Estate, who pleaded guilty to the murder of Gillian Thornton, was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin.
He had met the woman after the disco. He was seen walking up an adjacent laneway with her, hand in hand, at 3 a.m.
State pathologist Dr John Harbison, who conducted a post-mortem on the body, said at the inquest yesterday that the deceased had died of asphyxiation due to strangulation. This was possibly exacerbated by pressure put on the mouth and nostrils, which would have speeded up death, he said. He hoped this would provide some consolation to the deceased's relatives.
She had been the victim of an assault and suffered facial bruising and scratches on her body, but had no genital injuries, he said.
Garda Patrick Prendergast of Ballina Garda station said he had had to pick his steps from a rose garden to a disused rear garden before discovering the body of Ms Thornton in thick bushes.
The coroner, Dr Michael Loftus, extended his deepest sympathy to the Thornton family on the loss of their daughter and sister.
Insp Jerry Henry extended thanks to all members of the Garda and the community who had assisted in resolving details of what he described as "a terrible crime which had devastated and shocked all the people of Ballina".