Independent review recommended into 1973 Aughnacloy murder

THE POLICE Ombudsman has recommended that an independent review into the murder of Marian Beattie at Hadden’s Quarry between Aughnacloy and Ballygawley more than 50 years ago.

Aged 18 at the time, Marian’s partially clothed body was found at the bottom of the quarry after she had been attending a dance in the area. She had left with an unidentified male in the early hours of March 31, 1973.

No one has ever been charged with or convicted of her murder.

The Police Ombudsman investigation found that the RUC reacted quickly following the discovery of Marian’s body, dispatching Criminal Investigation Department officers and a Scenes of Crime Officer.

Items were recovered, including articles of clothing and forensic samples. These were submitted for analysis to the forensic science laboratory and returned to the police on 18 January 1974.

There is no record of what happened to them after their return to police and all are now missing.

They include a palm print, formed in mud on the heel of Marian’s right shoe, which became a significant focus for police. Although a photograph of the print does still exist, the shoe itself is missing.

The Police Ombudsman’s investigation identified that police investigating Marian’s murder had missed numerous evidential opportunities, including “reasonable lines of enquiry that do not appear to have been followed.”

However, it also found that – due to the passage of time, the loss of records and exhibits, and the fact that investigators were unable to speak to many officers involved in the murder investigation – it was not always possible to establish whether lines of enquiry had been followed and not documented, or whether they had not been progressed at all.

Mr Hume said it was clear that there were significant outstanding lines of enquiry in relation to suspects that had not been pursued.

In particular, he said Police Ombudsman investigators had found no evidence that police had:

• conducted any interviews with a number of suspects;
• checked a number of suspect alibis;
• made enquiries about the whereabouts of some suspects on the night of the murder;
• examined discrepancies between the accounts of some suspects and other evidence;
• undertaken any intelligence work in relation to suspects,
• shown a photograph of Marian to witnesses during their initial enquiries, or asked whether they had seen her leaving the dance hall.

The PSNI Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton said: “Marian Beattie was an innocent 18 year old who was murdered while attending a charity dance at Haddens Garage near Aughnacloy on 30 March 1973. Our thoughts are with Marian’s family today and we recognise the suffering they have experienced over the years in their quest to have someone brought to justice for her murder.

He added that they were committed to working with the Beattie family to getting answers and ensure thatr the case is properly investigated.