A VIDEOTAPE which could have helped determine the last movements of the murdered Dublin woman, Ms Marilyn Rynn, has been routinely wiped clean, it emerged yesterday.
Dublin Bus said it routinely wipes videotape from cameras on buses within a day or two, so that the tapes can be used again. The recordings from the late night Nitelink buses one of which could have carried Ms Rynn the night she was killed have not been kept.
A spokesman for Dublin Bus said the taping system on buses is for the security of staff and passengers, and not a general surveillance system. In the event of an incident on a bus a recording is kept, as it may be needed for evidence, he added.
Investigating gardai are not yet certain whether Ms Rynn took a Nitelink bus, from the city centre to Blanchardstown early on the morning of December 23rd. Recordings from buses on the route that morning could have confirmed that she did.
Gardai appealed yesterday for two people who called after. RTE's Crimeline programme on Monday night to call them again.
Chief Supt Jim McHugh said two of the approximately 100 callers following the reconstruction of Ms Rynn's last movements on the programme appeared to have useful information. One caller was named "Ricky". Another said he and his girlfriend thought they had seen Ms Rynn on the bus, but he did not leave his full name, address or telephone number.
The naked body of Ms Rynn, who had been raped and strangled, was found on waste ground not far from her home in Blanchardstown on January 7th.
She had attended a party at the Shieling Hotel in Raheny on December 22nd and late that night took a taxi to the city centre, where she was seen at Eddie Rocket's City Diner on O'Connell Street.
She is believed to have travelled home by bus at about 3 a.m, but gardai do not know whether she was accompanied or followed from the bus stop towards her home or whether she encountered her killer as she walked home.
Chief Supt McHugh appealed to the public to look for signs of distress or unusual behaviour among people they know which could indicate that they took part in the attack on Ms Rynn, which may have been carried out by more than one person.
He said gardai had been putting together a psychological profile of the killer, which was obviously speculative but could be accurate." "If he's a drinker he's probably drinking quite heavily," he said.
"One might expect his mental state to be nervous and agitated and irritable. He's probably been arguing with friends or family or colleagues at work. He would have difficulty sleeping. His normal" sleep pattern would be disrupted."