The Dr Marie Cassidy comments that sparked an outcry

DR MARIE Cassidy is renowned for her investigations of gruesome murder cases here. Last year she made headlines after she told medical students she was surprised at the jury’s decision in the Graham Dwyer murder trial.

She was speaking to the students at the Postgraduate Medical Centre at University Hospital Limerick at the time of her controversial comments.

There was no cause of death for victim Elaine O’Hara because her skull was missing after her body lay in the mountains for over a year. But a jury still found Graham Dwyer guilty of her murder based on the overwhelming evidence of their relationship.

Ms O’Hara, 37, was a childcare assistant who suffered with mental illness and had just been discharged from a psychiatric hospital when she died on August 22, 2012.

She had been in an S&M relationship with married father-of-three Dwyer, who was seen on CCTV visiting her apartment.

Professor Cassidy – who, along with her colleagues, examined the decomposed remains of Ms O’Hara – described the case as ‘fascinating’ when she was asked her medical opinion on the two-month trial.

‘We knew there was no pathology evidence to support anything, so it came to what other evidence did they have... it’s up to them to make a case and to present this case, and if they think the case is going to stand up in court, then the DPP will go ahead with it,’ she said.

‘In that case, I thought: “No, they will not go ahead with it...” And then, when we were waiting for the verdict coming in, I said, “It has to be not guilty.”’