Gardai step up hunt in Kym attack
Forensic teams look for clues to student horror
GARDAI have embarked on a systematic, forensic hunt for the attacker who left an 18-year-student unconscious with shattered bones and broken teeth.
Kym Owens, a firstyear university student at Maynooth, was discovered on the path yards from her student accommodation at 8.30pm last Sunday.
Gardai believe she had been punched repeatedly in the face, most likely by a male because of the sheer force of the blows and the extent of her head injuries.
No witnesses have come forward and the assailant remains at large, with local CCTV footage said to be of poor quality because of the foggy conditions at the time.
It is understood the investigation team led by Superintendent Gerry Wall has drafted in officers from the technical bureau to scour the area for clues that the attacker may have left at the scene. The Garda dog unit has also been seen in Maynooth.
Gardai are conducting door-to-door inquiries in a bid to eliminate suspects. They are tracking down and interviewing all those were seen in the area around the time of the attack.
Kym, who is from Castleblaney, Co Monaghan, had been home to see her family at the weekend. She took a private bus back to Maynooth on the evening that she was attacked.
Gardai are trying to trace an estimated 40 people who were on the bus along its journey from Monaghan to Maynooth. They are investigating if the attacker was a passenger who followed Kym when she got off in Maynooth and attacked her.
A Garda source said: “There is very little to go on. Fog has clouded the quality of the CCTV footage. There is no reason why this should happen to this girl.”
Garda are working tirelessly on interviewing people who were seen around the areas at the time and eliminating suspects.
Supt Wall renewed an appeal for information on Friday, asking anyone who was on the bus or witnesses in Maynooth to come forward and speak to gardai.