Grangegorman killings

Grangegorman killings
The house at No.1 Orchard View, Grangegorman
Date6 March 1997
LocationNo.1 Orchard View, Grangegorman, Dublin, Ireland
Also known asGrangegorman murders
DeathsSylvia Sheils and Mary Callinan
SuspectsDean Lyons, Mark Nash
ChargesMark Nash
ConvictionsMark Nash

The Grangegorman killings were the homicide on 6 March 1997 of Sylvia Sheils and Mary Callinan, patients at St. Brendan's Psychiatric Hospital in Grangegorman, Dublin, Ireland.[1] After giving a false confession, Dean Lyons was charged with the murders and placed on remand.[2] In his statement to the Garda Síochána (police), Lyons gave details that would only be known to the murderer or to the investigators.[3][4] After Lyons was charged, Mark Nash confessed to the killings, but later retracted his confession.[5] In April 2015, Nash's trial for the murder of Sheils and Callinan began[6] after an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the trial from going forward.[7]

Lyons was described by one of the gardaí (policemen) involved in the case as a "Walter Mitty" character,[8] and Charles Smith, psychiatrist and director of the Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum, felt that he might be prone to exaggeration and attention seeking.[9] He spent nine months in jail for a crime that he did not commit, and was released after the charge of murder against him was dropped on 29 April 1998.[10][11] A commission of investigation was set up to investigate the conduct of the Garda in the case. Dean Lyons died from a heroin overdose in 2000.[12]

  1. ^ O'Brien, Paul (2 May 2005), "New unsolved murder evidence by July", Irish Examiner, archived from the original on 3 December 2007, retrieved 3 June 2010.
  2. ^ Commission Report 2006, pp.11, 21–22
  3. ^ "Lyons family in calls over inquiry". RTÉ News. 11 August 2006. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
  4. ^ Commission Report 2006, pp.129–132
  5. ^ Commission Report 2006, pp.22–24
  6. ^ Edwards, Elaine (17 April 2015). "Mark Nash trial: Jury resumes deliberations on murder charges". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  7. ^ "Nash claims he cannot get fair trial for Grangegorman double murder", The Irish Times, 25 March 2010, archived from the original on 21 October 2012, retrieved 4 June 2010
  8. ^ Commission Report 2006, p.127
  9. ^ Commission Report 2006, p.149
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference rte was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Commission Report 2006, pp.7, 162
  12. ^ Kennedy, Edel (11 August 2006), "Mother of Dean Lyons is 'sick' over report findings", Irish Independent, archived from the original on 24 October 2012, retrieved 4 June 2010

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