Raymond Barr at his sister's grave
Denise O'Donnell was murdered
The chief suspect in the mysterious death of a Tyrone teenager nearly 40 years ago, was given a police escort out of the country less than three weeks later, it has been claimed.
This revelation has sparked widespread speculation among the community that the man at the centre of the controversy may have been working as an agent for the security services.
Now an anonymous letter about the alleged killer’s movements and a dossier compiled by the dead girl’s half brother have shed new light on the cold case murder.
The body of 19-year-old Strabane girl Denise O’Donnell, was discovered on Sunday November 21 1976, submerged in eight inches of water in the Mourne River, a short distance from her family home on the town’s Ballycolman estate.
On the previous Friday night, Denise – who had only just began socialising in bars – had visited a pub across the border in Co Donegal accompanied by two of her friends who were sisters.
The three girls returned to Strabane in the early hours of Saturday. And as they were making their way along Main Street around 3.20am they met a local man who told Denise’s friends he would see her safely home, as he knew the girls lived in another part of town.
Little did the girls know as they waived Denise goodbye at the junction of a road which leads to the bridge over the Mourne River that they would never again see her.
Denise O’Donnell never made it to her parents’ terrace home in Ballycolman. An extensive search of the area the following day revealed nothing.
Her family eventually traced the man who had agreed to accompany her on the journey. He claimed he left Denise at a junction a considerable distance from her home and as he did so, he heard Denise hail a figure wearing a long dark coat.
To date, he is the only person arrested in connection with the case.
The following day a Sunday, – twenty hours after Denise said goodbye to her two girlfriends – her submerged body was spotted by an army foot patrol in a shallow inlet near a sewer on the Mourne River.
Within hours of the discovery the man who was the last known person to see Denise alive, was arrested and questioned.
After denying involvement in Denise’s death, the suspect – who had a loose connection to the local unit of the Official IRA – was released without charge.
A medical examination of Denise’s body concluded that despite marks on her body and tears on her clothing which may have pointed to evidence of a struggle prior to death, the youngster had died as a result of drowning.
This was confirmed later in a Coroner’s Report, although Denise’s family always suspected foul play.The report also stated clearly that the attractive young woman had not been the victim of any sexual assault.
Denise O’Donnell’s death sent shockwaves through the close-knit community and the many unanswered questions surrounding it, cast a shadow over the Tyrone town for many years to come.
Denise, was the half-sister of well known Civil Rights activist and later republican politician Ivan Barr, who passed away five years ago aged 70.
After Ivan Barr’s father died his mum Finwell remarried and gave birth to two daughters, Finwell and Denise. The shocking circumstances of Denise’s death devastated Ivan and other members of the Barr family as well as Denise’s parents.
Ivan’s heartbroken mother died three years later, aged just 63 and she is buried in the same grave as her teenage daughter at Melmount.
Despite his unflinching dedication to serving the local community on Strabane District Council, Ivan Barr also pledged himself to uncovering the truth about his sister’s final moments.
“Ivan never got over Denise’s death. He was never the same man again,” Ivan’s brother Raymond Barr told the Sunday World this week.
“He felt badly let down by the authorities and he vowed to collate as much information as possible, in the hope that some day, Denise’s killer would be brought to justice.”
And to this end, Ivan Barr compiled a comprehensive and detailed dossier on his sister’s case which has been passed to the Sunday World for examination.
In an interview with the Sunday World this week near the spot where his sister’s body was found, Raymond Barr said he hopes highlighting unresolved issues surround his sister’s death, may help jog memories which could result in the case being re-opened.
He said: “Our brother Ivan believed Denise was drowned by someone she knew. He also believed he knew the identity of her killer and he dedicated the rest of his life to discovering the truth and achieving justice for our sister.
“Sadly he never lived to see that, but we might.”
And he added: “Ivan insisted an inscription on Denise’s headstone contained the words, ‘slain by someone in whom she placed her trust’. We believe that to be true.”
The explosive and extensively researched document compiled by Ivan Barr reveals:
Less than three weeks after his sister died, a local man who had been arrested twice in connection with Denise’s disappearance and death, was picked up by police and driven to a ferry terminal from where he caught a boat, accompanied by his wife, to begin a new life in England.
On arrival on the other side of the Irish Sea, the suspect and his wife were then met by English police officers, who drove them to the home of relative who lived in the Donnington area of Telford, Shropshire.
The couple’s marriage soon ran into difficulties and they divorced. His wife has since remarried and is now living back in Ireland. However, the suspect never set foot in Strabane ever again.
The file also reveals how clothing he was wearing on the night he accompanied Denise O’Donnell on her last journey was never sent for forensic examination, allegedly on the instructions of a senior RUC officer.
The figure in a long coat, the suspect claimed during questioning who Denise allegedly hailed on the road as they parted company, was never traced.
Numerous witnesses contradicted the suspect’s account of the route he and Denise took before she died.
According to the suspect, he asked Denise which way she preferred as they neared the end of the Mourne Bridge. And he claimed she wished to take a much longer way home by Ballycolman Lane, rather than her usual way along the banks of the Mourne.
One crucial part of Ivan Barr’s research reveals, that before leaving for the boat, the suspect had a conversation with him and other members of the Barr family.
He claimed the police promised him a deal in return for supplying information on known republicans in the Strabane area. He told the Barrs that the approach was made during his first period of detention.
Raymond Barr recently revealed the family had received an anonymous letter detailing Denise’s alleged killer’s movements after she died. And he has appealed for anyone with additional information to come forward as soon as possible.
He said: “We owe it to Ivan to see this through and we owe it to Denise too. Any help – no matter how small – would be appreciated.”