TRAGEDY OF MAIREAD
FATAL INJURY CAUSED AS PARTNER THREW HER OUT: CORONER
A TRAINEE accountant died from head injuries sustained while she was being removed from a house in Co Tyrone by her partner, a coroner has ruled.
Mairead McCallion (36) was found with injuries at a house in Castleview Court in Omagh in February 2014 and died the next day.
She succumbed to bleeding to the brain at the South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen.
Her partner Noel Knox was initially charged with murder, but the case was dropped after prosecutors raised concerns about inconclusive medical evidence.
However, during the inquest into her death yesterday, Coroner Patrick McGurgan found that the fatal trauma sustained involved an impact with Mairead’s head when she was being removed from the property by her partner.
Mairead’s family welcomed his findings, saying that they hoped to get the justice she deserved.
In his 12-page report, Mr McGurgan criticised the police handling of her care when she was taken to Omagh PSNI station, saying that there were missed opportunities to seek medical attention.
The court heard how Mairead, who suffered with alcohol problems, had embarked on a “promising career” in accountancy but that drink “got a grip of her”.
Mr McGurgan described how she succumbed to alcohol, and that her brain shrank to that of someone who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease.
The Coroner’s Court heard that Mairead was at the house in Omagh with Mr Knox and another man.
Mr Knox, who had been in a relationship with Mairead for almost seven years, told her to leave.
During his evidence, Mr Knox claimed he put his two hands on her and walked her to the door.
He accepted he “may have used some force”, but added that she was unsteady on her feet and that she may have fallen into the garden.
Mairead was left outside in the rain with no shoes or coat, and after knocking the door for some time, Mr Knox rang the police.
When PSNI officers arrived Mairead told them that Mr Knox had grabbed her by the hair and banged her head off the wall during an assault.
One officer noticed Mairead’s hair was hanging low, as if it had been pulled. She also complained to an officer that her head was sore.
Mr Knox was arrested for common assault.
Mairead was taken to the police station where she was examined by a doctor, but officers failed to inform the doctor that she had suffered head injuries.
An officer stated in his evidence that as the doctor spoke to Mairead, she was twirling her hair and strands were coming out and she was placing them on the table.
Mr McGurgan said there should have been a proper handover of notes and that this resulted in a missed opportunity in respect of her care.
During her time with police she became progressively more unsteady, but blamed her highheel shoes, and officers at the station did not raise the alarm with paramedics.
Officers had arranged to take her to a friend’s house. However, after she became physically sick an ambulance was called and she was taken to hospital, where she died.
Pathologist Dr Peter Ingram told the inquest there could be a period of lucidity in people suffering such injuries before rapid decline.
Speaking after the coroner’s findings, Mairead’s sister Patricia O’Brien said: “Once again we are left feeling very hurt and left feeling the pain of what happened to Mairead, not just by the incident that took her life but by the care that was given to her in the hours proceeding that.
“We have always known that there were missed opportunities and it’s some comfort that the coroner has now alluded to that, and we believe that lessons have to be learned from this incident.
“Mairead was a very loving, caring, gentle, kind person.
“We as a family have to regroup and discuss what our next step is. It will take a bit of time to think about that and make a decision on what we do next. We owe it to Mairead to make sure we do everything we can to make sure she gets the justice she deserves.
“Mairead was a lovely, gentle, intelligent, articulate and kind person.
“She was very much loved by all of her family. She can never be replaced.”