Could a drawing help identify woman’s body found in Co Cork?

There are many things An Garda Síochána know about the woman whose skeletal remains were found in 2021 during the construction of a greenway in Co Cork.

They believe the woman was 70 years or older when she died, that she was 157cm tall and had a large frame. They think she wore dentures made in the 1960s while she also suffered from arthritis. Carbon dating suggests she died between 1985 and 1987.

What they don’t know is her name.

They commissioned Prof Michelle Vitali, a director of the Institute of Forensic Sciences at Pennsylvania Western University and a specialist in forensic illustration, to draw an image of the dead woman. She works pro bono for police forces in the US and provided her services free in the Cork case.

Vitali explains to In the News the process she used to create an image from the woman’s skull which might help jog memories. It is not, she stresses, a portrait of the dead woman, rather a way to illustrate her features. But could it really identify the dead woman and has it worked in the past?

Irish Times southern correspondent Barry Roche gives the background to this sad case.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Declan Conlon and Andrew McNair.

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