COLD CASE: Patricia Doherty Murder

Patricia Doherty, aged 29, was a prison officer at Mountjoy Prison in Dublin, Ireland. She had returned to her home in Tallaght, Dublin just before 9 pm on the evening of 23rd December 1991, following a busy day of Christmas shopping. But that evening, on a last minute spur of the moment thought, she decided she wanted to get Santa hats for her two young children. Time was of the essence.

It was reported that she had a long work shift on Christmas Eve and this was her last chance to have everything organised. She was spotted at two locations, one near the Old Bawn Shopping Centre just before it closed and another by a local pub called Bridget Burke’s. But Patricia never returned home that evening.

On Christmas day, Patricia's husband formally reported his wife missing. The Irish police were able to find a witness who reported seeing Patricia at around 9:20pm on the 23rd of December walking past Bridget Burke's Pub towards the Old Bawn Shopping Centre. Then, a second witness came forward stating that he also saw a woman matching Patricia's description getting into a red car at the entrance to Old Bawn Shopping Centre.

On 21st June, 1992, almost six months later, James Kelly was cutting turf on the Dublin/Wicklow Mountain border (Featherbeds) in an area known as Glassmucky Brakes. He was shocked to discover the clothed body of a woman just visible through collapsing soil on a bog bank. Over the following days, recovery and forensic examination would reveal the remains to be that of Patricia Doherty.

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