The Irish Scissor Sisters (39 page)

most eagerly awaited criminal trials in years got underway at the Central Criminal Court on 12 October 2006. The nine-day trial would be one of the most gruesome and fascinating cases ever heard in an Irish court.

Charlotte Mulhall was a mother by the time her trial started. She had given birth to a baby boy at the Coombe Hospital on 28 May 2006 and was looking after the infant in a flat on Grosvenor Road in Rathmines. The council had taken back the house at 31 Kilclare Gardens following John Mulhall’s death and Linda was now living with her children in the Swiftbrook estate, in Tallaght. She had originally failed to turn up for the court case, causing an adjournment. She had disappeared on her release from hospital, following her suicide attempt, and she was also abusing heroin and drinking heavily at the time. She appeared to be in good condition when she did arrive, however, and listened intently to the evidence, as the trial got under way.

Linda and Charlotte Mulhall had pleaded not guilty to the murder of Farah Swaleh Noor, otherwise known as Sheilila Salim, at 17 Richmond Cottages, Ballybough, Dublin, on 20 March 2005. A jury of six men and six women were sworn in to hear the case, which was presided over by one of Ireland’s most experienced judges, Mr Justice Paul Carney. The small Courtroom Number 2 was packed to capacity, with throngs of media eager to hear the gruesome evidence that was expected to emerge.

Linda and Charlotte sat in the body of the court and stared impassively as Senior Counsel George Birmingham stated the case for the prosecution and alleged that the two defendants had murdered thirty-nine-year-old Noor. The remains of Farah Swaleh Noor had been recovered from the Royal Canal at Ballybough and a post-mortem revealed that the victim had been stabbed twenty-two times and had injuries to ‘pretty well all’ of his internal organs. The victim died from stab wounds and it seemed he had been dismembered after death. Mr Noor’s soft tissue had been cut through with a knife, while the bones had been severed by being repeatedly chipped with a cleaver or an axe. The victim’s head and penis were missing and had never been found. Mr Birmingham told the jury they would hear evidence given to gardaí by the Mulhall sisters where both women admitted their involvement in the murder and subsequent disposal of Farah Swaleh Noor’s body.

Mr Birmingham stated, ‘Charlotte Mulhall had a knife and Linda Mulhall wielded a hammer with which she struck him a significant number of times on or about the head.’ He told the court that the women’s mother, Kathleen Mulhall, had been involved in a stormy relationship with the victim, who appeared to be violent towards her from time to time.

Ali Abubakaar gave evidence of seeing Farah Noor in the company of Kathleen, Linda and Charlotte Mulhall on the night he died. He said that his friend appeared to be drunk and they were talking when Kathleen came up and said: ‘Just leave him alone, he’s OK.’ He remembered that Farah had been wearing his Ireland-away soccer jersey. When he then read an article in the
Metro Éireann
newspaper a few months later, which said that the body found in the canal had a similar jersey, he said: ‘I just thought Farah used to wear this T-shirt and I ring people to see if they had any contact with him.’

Brendan Grehan, Linda Mulhall’s Senior Counsel asked Abubakaar if he knew whether Farah Noor’s personality changed when he was drinking.

The witness replied: ‘I never lasted the whole night with him. I only heard, but I don’t know that.’

Dr Bríd McBride, a forensic scientist at the State Laboratory told of how she visited Flat 1 at 17 Richmond Cottages on two occasions and found the presence of a number of blood stains in the bedroom which were later found to match the victim’s. She said that the blood splattering discovered was consistent with a serious assault having taken place in the bedroom, at a low-down location, such as the floor. There was also evidence of bloodstains in the grooves of the pine planks on the wardrobe but not on the surface of the wood. She commented that this was consistent with a clean-up having taken place to remove the blood.

Dr McBride agreed with Charlotte’s Senior Counsel, Isobel Kennedy, that the use of the chemical luminol to show up blood stains could give a false positive reaction to certain chemicals found in cleaning products. However, the witness said she had based her findings on conventional evidence as well.

Scientist Claire Timms told the court she had carried out a toxicology test on a blood sample taken from the blood that was later identified as Farah Swaleh Noor’s. It revealed the presence of ecstasy in the blood, at a level of 0.14 microgrammes per millilitre. This was a result of Kathleen spiking his drink when they got back to the flat.

The youngest Mulhall daughter, Marie, spoke of how Charlotte had confessed to her about her involvement in the murder: ‘Charlotte was very upset. I’d just come in from work and she came to my room crying. I asked what was wrong with her. She appeared to be drunk. She told me she was upset because they were after killing Farah. She told me it was herself and Linda. She didn’t say too much about my mother but I knew my mother had been there. I just let her tell me what she was saying.’

The apprentice mechanic told the court that she didn’t believe what her sister told her but that she’d started to have second thoughts when she heard on the radio that a body had been taken from the canal.

Linda and Charlotte did not give evidence at their trial and the jury had to rely on the statements they’d given to gardaí to decide on their guilt or innocence. They were present in court for the whole trial and read books, newspapers and celebrity magazines during breaks in evidence.

Lawrence Keegan, who had seen Farah Noor’s head in Sean Walsh Park, in Tallaght, at the end of March, was another witness. He spoke of noticing the object in the ground and kicking it with his foot to try to dislodge it. He said: ‘I knew it was something else but part of me thought: “It’s nothing to do with me,” if you understand me.’ He was asked if he told the park ranger that it could be a human head belonging to the body pulled out of the canal, and said: ‘I’m an alcoholic. I could have seen pink elephants in the park if you understand where I’m coming from.’

Detective Inspector Christy Mangan took to the stand on day five and told of how Linda Mulhall had contacted him saying she wanted to talk to him about the murder. DI Mangan spoke about how Linda had talked to him and Sergeant Liam Hickey about what had happened on the day of the murder. The statement she made to gardaí, detailing her exact role in the murder, was read out to the court. The Detective Inspector agreed under cross-examination by Linda’s counsel, Brendan Grehan, that the garda investigation had made only limited progress until she contacted him and co-operated. He agreed that she had often cried and been emotional during his dealings with her and seemed like a very different person to the type who would be involved in a murder like this one. Mr Justice Paul Carney told the jury that Linda’s statement was only admissible in relation to her case, and could not be used as evidence either in favour, or against, Charlotte.

Detective Sergeant Gerry McDonnell gave evidence on day six and spoke about Charlotte’s statements in relation to the murder. He read over the statement he had taken on 17 October 2005, in which Charlotte described bringing Farah’s body down to the canal and tipping it in. Detective Garda Kevin Keys was present when the statement was taken from Charlotte and agreed with Charlotte’s counsel, Isobel Kennedy, that she had become increasingly upset as her interview went on and it was often very difficult to hear what she was saying. He also agreed that she was very protective of Linda.

As Charlotte sat through the reading of her statement in court, she began to lose her composure. The gardaí had put it to her that Noor had been stabbed over twenty times and asked her if she remembered how many times she had stabbed him: ‘I don’t know, a couple. It was nothing like that,’ she had replied. Charlotte had spent the first five days of the trial displaying few emotions and was almost like a disinterested observer. However, this changed when her words about cutting up the body were entered into record and Isobel Kennedy told Judge Carney: ‘Ms Charlotte Mulhall feels she’s going to be ill.’ The trial was adjourned for the day at that point.

By the following day Charlotte had regained her composure as her mother’s alleged role in the murder was discussed. Charlotte’s claim that it was Kathleen Mulhall who had asked her and Linda to kill Farah Noor was read out: ‘She just kept telling us, “Will you do it? Will you hurry up, quick, kill him?” Me mammy said just cut him up. I just remember cutting. I cut him with the knife.’

Farah Noor’s violent history was discussed. ‘Lynn’, the Chinese girl who’d had a son with Farah in the late 1990s, took to the stand and spoke of meeting the dead man at Dr Quirkey’s amusement arcade on O’Connell Street. She said she played two games of pool there with Farah before going back to his flat where: ‘He tried to do something on me. He tried to do something, make sex with me.’ When asked if she wanted to have sex with Farah, Lynn answered, ‘No, he forced me to do it’ and said she had become pregnant following the intercourse.

‘Paula’ was also called as a witness and gave testimony about her three years with the violent murder victim. She told the court how he raped her on an almost daily basis and how she’d feared that he would kill her some day before she left him.

Evidence was also heard that Kathleen had sought medical treatment in Cork because of injuries Noor inflicted on her. Det Sgt Gerry McDonnell was asked if Charlotte might have witnessed her mother being assaulted. ‘She could well have,’ he said. Farah had assaulted Kathleen in front of plenty of people and didn’t attempt to hide what he was doing.

The trial concluded on the ninth day with the closing speeches. Una Ní Raifeartaigh BL, who was part of the prosecuting team, told the jury that they’d heard some ‘distressing, disturbing and shocking’ evidence and the prosecution believed a verdict of murder was appropriate in both cases. She did remind the six men and six women, however, that they must also consider the defences of provocation and self-defence.

Linda Mulhall’s lead counsel, Brendan Grehan, said that although both women had been tried together the cases against them had to be considered separately. He said that the jury could not be satisfied beyond all reasonable doubt that his client was guilty of murder. He argued that it had not been proven that Linda Mulhall striking Farah Noor with the hammer had caused his death. He also stressed that she had been frightened when Farah Noor grabbed her and would not let her go. This had all the hallmarks of a sexual motive on the dead man’s part, Senior Counsel Grehan said. He reminded the jury that the investigating gardaí had described his client as a ‘genuine’ person. He concluded by telling the jury that it was possible for them to return a verdict of accessory after the fact of the murder.

Isobel Kennedy SC said that Charlotte Mulhall had initially denied all involvement in the killing to protect her sister Linda, the one person she was ‘utterly devoted’ to. She said that the finding of self-defence was an option to the jury, as was a defence of provocation, which would reduce the offence of murder to manslaughter. Senior Counsel Isobel Kennedy echoed Brendan Grehan in pointing out the accessory after the fact verdict was also available to the jury.