A GALWAY man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Swiss teenager Manuela Riedo in October 2007.
Gerald Barry (29), of Rosan Glas, Rahoon, Galway, was given the mandatory sentence by Mr Justice Barry White at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin.
Barry strangled Ms Riedo after having sex with her on a pedestrian walkway known as “The Line”, close to the Lough Atalia area of Galway city, on October 8th, 2007.
Ms Riedo (17) had only arrived in Ireland three days prior to that to study English at a language school in the city.
On Saturday morning, the jury of six men and six women took just two hours and 38 minutes to bring in a murder verdict. They had retired overnight.
They also found Barry guilty of stealing Ms Riedo’s camera and a mobile phone.
Mr Justice Barry White said he was in “complete agreement” with the verdict, which he said would be shared by all right-thinking people.
Barry admitted killing Riedo after having sex with her, but suggested that it was an “accident”.
His DNA was found in a used condom near the scene of her death.
Gardaí also recovered Manuela’s mobile phone and camera, which Barry had stolen.
Ms Riedo’s parents, Hans-Pieter (53) and Arlette (50), who had been present for the duration of the trial, welcomed the verdict. In an emotional victim impact statement read out in court, Mr Riedo said their only child’s death had “taken the future away from us”.
“You have robbed Manuela of 60 to 70 years of her life. I will never lead my daughter as a bride to the altar, and my wife will never knit baby clothes for a grandchild, and we won’t have anyone to look after us when we are old,” he said.
“She was a good friend, a good student, she was our pride and joy, and we were so happy to have such a daughter. These wonderful memories are all that is left for us.”
Mr Riedo recalled how Manuela’s trip to Ireland was her first abroad without her parents.
“We had heard only good things about Ireland and thus we had no misgivings about sending her to this beautiful country,” he said.
“Before she left, she said that she hoped to get through the two weeks without feeling homesick, and that the trip would be a test for future, longer trips.”
Ms Riedo’s parents were particularly angered at the suggestion by Barry that he had engaged in consensual sex with her.
Garda Sandra Waldron said, in translation for the couple: “The defence said many things about Manuela and they were all lies. He just wants everyone to know that is not the way that Manuela was. It was very difficult for them to hear this information without saying something.”
Along with the life sentence, Mr Justice Barry White handed down to Barry two five-year sentences to run concurrently for the theft of Ms Riedo’s camera and mobile phone.
Mr Justice White told Barry: “I trust you have not been unmoved by the evidence of Mr Riedo of the devastating effect of your criminal behaviour on the family of your victim.
“One often loses sight when someone loses one’s life violently; that person is somebody’s son or daughter, somebody’s brother or sister, somebody’s grandparent or somebody’s child.”
The judge acknowledged that Barry came from a dysfunctional family, but he told him: “You clearly have a substantial criminal record that involves violent behaviour.”
He said he would hand down the five-year concurrent sentences for theft because of the “aggravated” nature of the way in which he had taken Ms Riedo’s mobile phone and camera.
