Six years on: Liam Farrell’s body to be exhumed as investigation reopens

The remains of Rooskey farmer Liam Farrell are to be exhumed as part of a renewed investigation into his death more than six years after he was found outside his home.

Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan authorised the exhumation of the remains of Liam Farrell as part of an ongoing review into his death. The exhumation will form part of an examination being carried out by the Garda Serious Crime Review Team (SCRT), which is reassessing the circumstances surrounding the retired farmer’s death.

State Pathologist Professor Linda Mulligan is expected to conduct a new post-mortem examination following the exhumation.

The development has been welcomed by members of the Farrell family, who have campaigned for years for a full forensic review of the case.

Peter Farrell said the exhumation could finally bring clarity to questions raised during the 2024 inquest.

“The results will speak for themselves,” he said.

Evidence heard during the Coroner’s Court in Carrick-on-Shannon on September 11, 2024, where the circumstances surrounding Mr Farrell’s injuries and death were examined in detail.

Mr Farrell was found outside the back door of his home in Aughamore, Rooskey, on January 12, 2020, after being discovered by his daughter.

According to evidence presented at the inquest, gardaí arriving at the scene observed several of Mr Farrell’s belongings scattered outside the rear of the house, including his shoes, socks and jacket. Blood was also noted on the back door handle, on the wall beside the door and in a bucket located near the entrance.

The court also heard that Mr Farrell had a number of visible injuries, including bruising to the left side of his face, injuries to his hands and legs, as well as cuts and bruising to his feet.

Crime scene evidence presented at the inquest described blood on the back door, the door handle and the wall beside the entrance, while small timber fragments and blood were also located outside the door area.

During the original post-mortem carried out on January 13, 2020, pathologist Professor Paul Hartel concluded that Mr Farrell died from severe coronary artery disease — effectively a heart attack.

However, Professor Hartel told the inquest he had only been provided with limited information when carrying out the autopsy. He said he had not been told that the scene had been treated as potentially suspicious and had not been given access to photographs from the scene.

He also noted that there was blood present on the back of Mr Farrell’s head and in his hair, which he believed at the time may have been transfer blood from the scene.

Professor Hartel further described several external injuries on Mr Farrell’s body, including bruising around the left eye and injuries to the hands and limbs.

During questioning, he acknowledged that such injuries could potentially be consistent with blunt force trauma or an assault but said he had not been in a position to determine how they occurred due to the limited information available to him.

The inquest also heard evidence of additional injuries including trauma to Mr Farrell’s collarbone area and other injuries to the body, which raised further questions about how the injuries were sustained.

The case was subsequently reviewed by State Pathologist Professor Linda Mulligan, who indicated that the pattern of injuries — particularly those on Mr Farrell’s hands — could potentially represent defensive injuries.

Her review concluded that the injuries could be consistent with more than one explanation, including a fall during a medical episode or an assault.

The newly authorised exhumation will allow Professor Mulligan to conduct a fresh forensic post-mortem examination as part of an ongoing review by the Garda Serious Crime Review Team.

Members of the Farrell family have long maintained that the full circumstances surrounding Mr Farrell’s death have not been established and have campaigned for the case to be re-examined.

The new examination is expected to provide further forensic analysis into the injuries and events surrounding the Rooskey man’s death.