Mayo woman was pregnant when she disappeared, murder trial hears

A family doctor has told a murder trial that a Co Mayo woman whom he confirmed as being pregnant on the day she disappeared 14 years ago, showed no sign of being upset or being distressed by the news.

Dr Marcus Allen told Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy* and a jury at the Central Criminal Court, sitting in Castlebar, that Sandra Collins told him when he confirmed she was pregnant that she had "decided to go to England for a termination as she could not go through another pregnancy".

Ms Collins, from Crossmolina, was already the mother of a baby daughter born in October 1998. The child had been put up for adoption against the wishes of her family.

Martin Earley (49), Carrowmore Lacken, Ballina, denies murdering Ms Collins on or about December 4th, 2000.

On the second day of the trial yesterday, Bridie Conway, a sister of the missing woman, said Ms Collins had been living with an aunt, the late Ann O’Grady, at her home in Killala at the time she disappeared.

Ms Conway told the court yesterday that she identified a fleece jacket found at the pier in Killala on December 9th, 2000, as belonging to her sister. In the pockets were found a packet of sausages and two wet pieces of paper, on which was written a number of phone numbers. One was that of Martin Earley and another number was for an abortion clinic in England.

The trial continues.

*This story was edited on May 8th, 2014