Woman's inquest adjourned over newspaper report

AN inquest into the death of a psychiatric patient has been adjourned because the coroner said a newspaper report on the case's background had prejudiced the outcome.

This is the third adjournment of the inquest, which concerns the death of a young woman whose body was found on a beach at Portrane, Co Dublin, on September 3rd last year. Ms Maeve Kelly (19), of Balkill Park, Howth, had gone missing from the nearby St Ita's psychiatric hospital, where she was admitted as a voluntary patient three days earlier.

The jury in the case was dismissed last week by Dublin Country Coroner, Dr Bartley Sheehan, said it had been brought to his attention that some of the jurors might have an interest in St Ita's.

Yesterday, Dr Sheehan said he had no option but to adjourn the case again because an article by the Irish Independent, columnist, Sam Smyth, had prejudiced the outcome. The article made a "partial assessment" of the evidence of the previously adjourned hearings, he added, and there was a risk that a jury could be influenced by it.

While the report was largely factual, Dr Sheehan continued, it contained facts "which would tend to lead to certain conclusions. Considering that the evidence was at the very best incomplete, to arrive at such conclusions was not responsible reporting."

He appreciated that journalists were under pressure to get "good copy", but said it had not been his experience "for this to happen in the coroner's court".

Mr Sean O hUllachain, representing the Kelly family, acknowledged that his clients were the source of details in Mr Smyth's report. But it had been their understanding that the story would not be published until after the inquest.

Mr Felix McEnroy, representing St Ita's, said he wanted to record his deep regret at the circumstances of the adjournment. Both he and the representatives of the Kelly family believed that "Independent Newspapers must have known what it was doing" in publishing the report.

It was for the coroner to consider whether the Garda should be informed that the inquest had to be halted in such an inappropriate way, he said.

He also suggested that Independent Newspapers do the honourable thing" with the extra costs incurred by the Kelly family.

Dr Sheehan said he regretted the inconvenience to all concerned especially the Kelly family, but he, proposed to adjourn the case for mention on February 19th, when he would fix a date for a hearing that "would allow the effect of this report to be diminished".

He said he had powers to refer the matter to the High Court to decide if it constituted contempt. "I'll be thinking about that between now and February 19th," he said.