Witness recounts seeing Scarlett Faulkner dead after Birdhill attack

A witness at the Scarlett Faulkner murder trial described the moment he first saw the 28‑year‑old lying motionless on a roundabout in Birdhill, Co. Tipperary, on 21 March.

Gordon Lawlor, a passenger in a friend’s van, said he heard his own reaction, “oh my god…she’s dead, the back of her head is open”, as he approached the scene and saw “an individual lying on the ground with their head down”. He confirmed the body was “completely still” and that blood was visible on the top of her collar.

Forensic evidence presented by Dr Liam Reynolds of Forensics Science Ireland linked Ms Faulkner’s DNA to a 64.5 cm iron bar used in the attack, with blood found near the tapered end and 26 cm further down the edge. Matching DNA was also found on the door of a silver Transit van she had travelled in, on a pair of blue leggings, and on a pair of pajama bottoms belonging to a 41‑year‑old female accused.

Detective Garda Barry Ahern outlined the collection of further evidence from a Volkswagen car, a Ford Transit van and several properties. Items recovered from the Volkswagen included a baseball bat, corroded piping, a coffee‑table leg and a pitchfork; a plastic pellet gun was found in the Transit van.

Garda Ray Sweeney’s CCTV and dash‑cam analysis showed the Volkswagen and Transit van colliding near the Birdhill roundabout before occupants exited, pursued a woman who fell near a Toyota Corolla, and subsequently led to the fatal injuries sustained by Ms Faulkner.

Source: Limerick Post. Photo: Mike Bird / Pexels.