AN ELDERLY woman found murdered in her bedroom on Christmas Day in 2008 in Newry, Co Down, was struck in the face with a crucifix, a jury heard yesterday.
A consultant pathologist said that a circular bruising pattern on the chin of Maire Rankin (81) would be consistent with the shape of the crucifix being pushed into the pensioner’s face.
The murder trial in Belfast of the woman’s neighbour, pharmacist Karen Walsh (45) from Galway, also heard yesterday that Ms Walsh told police she did not live full time at her home in Newry and that during the week she stayed in a hotel in Ballsbridge, Dublin.
The Belfast Crown Court jury heard that a postmortem showed Ms Rankin had been sexually assaulted and had 15 fractured ribs.
State Pathologist for Northern Ireland Prof Jack Crane said that in his opinion, her death was caused by a “multiplicity of blows” to the head and by the rib fractures, coupled with underlying medical problems of hypertension and chronic asthma.
It is the prosecution’s case that Ms Walsh, who lived with her husband next door, committed the killing and that DNA evidence links her to the crucifix.
Prof Crane said his initial examination in the bedroom revealed “heavy bruising” to Ms Rankin’s forehead and nose, swelling to her scalp, bruising to her right arm, blood in her nose and injuries to her vagina.
He told Liam McCollum, prosecuting, that during the full examination, he noted that the bruising to Ms Rankin’s forehead extended right across it and down to her eyelids. He confirmed he had examined the broken crucifix found in the bedroom and that its shape indicated it could have been used to cause the injuries to Ms Rankin’s chin.
He said an object was likely used in the sexual assault. He ruled out the possibility of sexual intercourse.
While Ms Rankin’s bones were more brittle than a younger person’s, a blood clot that had formed on her brain was also significant. “I think that indicates the degree of force and also I think there has been a multiplicity of blows to the head.”
Prof Crane described how there was no bruising associated with the multiple rib fractures and suggested these had been caused “at or about the time of death”.
He said they were similar to fractures commonly seen in patients who have been resuscitated.
“It is my understanding, however, that no attempt to revive Mrs Rankin took place and therefore one has to assume that the rib fractures were caused during the assault,” the pathologist said.
Peter Irvine, defending, suggested that the bruising to the chin and nose could have been caused by her falling down while wearing her nebuliser mask. Prof Crane said he would not have expected to have found such extensive bruising if that had happened.
It was suggested that bruising to Ms Rankin’s forehead could have been caused by lumps of hair which were pulled out, but that was dismissed as “absolutely incompatible”.
The jury also heard further details of statements by Ms Walsh when interviewed by police after they were told at the scene by her husband that his wife had visited their neighbour on Christmas Eve.
Police conducted two video-recorded interviews with Ms Walsh on December 26th. At that stage, police were treating her as a witness with potential information about Ms Rankin’s death.
The jury previously heard that she was not arrested or charged with the murder until December 27th.
Ms Walsh told a female officer how she and her family moved in next door to Ms Rankin in November 2007 but only stayed there at weekends.
During the week, they stayed in a suite at the Berkeley Court Hotel in Dublin.
Describing Ms Rankin as a “lovely, friendly woman” whom you “could ask for a favour or a loan of anything”, Ms Walsh said she had been in the pensioner’s house three or four times during the year.
She said that on the night of Christmas Eve, she called in to her neighbour’s house at about 11.45pm and had stayed for about two hours because Ms Rankin was having breathing problems.
She said she left at about 2.30am on Christmas morning, after Ms Rankin had assured her she would be okay. After she got up on Christmas Day, her husband told her “you would not believe it” but there was a police cordon around Ms Rankin’s house.
“I thought to myself, ‘sweet divine, what will I do? I was the last person in there. They are probably going to think it was me’,” Ms Walsh had told the police officer.
The trial continues.