‘Justice has been served for our beautiful sister’

IN A written statement delivered after Friday morning’s guilty verdict, Patricia O’Connor’s sisters said that ‘justice has been served for our beautiful sister, who met her demise through tragic circumstances.’

Rita Slevin, Valerie Slevin and Anne O’Sullivan, said their sister Patricia was the ‘most kind, caring and loving grandmother, sister and mother. She was a hard working woman who loved to share her care and kindness with all’.

‘It has been a very tough seven weeks sitting in that courtroom looking at the people that took our sister for their own selfish reasons,’ they said.

They apologised to the people who found the first body parts of their sister Patricia in the Dublin and Wicklow mountains saying: ‘We are so sorry you had to endure part of our pain and we thank you for cooperating and helping the gardaí in every way you could.’

They wished to thank ‘all the legal teams and witnesses, gardaí, army and civil defence’, adding: ‘We thank you for all your help and participation, we can’t thank you enough.’

Rita Slevin told reporters this morning that it was ‘disgusting to think that someone could put down their own mother like that.’

The daughter-in-law of Patricia O’Connor, Martina O’Connor, also said the outcome of the trial was ‘a relief and we hope the sentences reflect the crime’.

Martina O’Connor is the wife of the deceased’s son, Richard O’Connor, who gave evidence during the trial.