Mens Rea: A true crime podcast

Mens Rea: A true crime podcast

Mens Rea is the legal principle of intent that must be proved in a number of crimes, such as murder. It means literally, "guilty mind". Mens Rea Podcast explores the most notorious crimes from Ireland and the UK and the court cases that followed. Join your host, Sinead, every fortnight when a new case is discussed.

Episodes

May 31, 2024 48 mins

In the middle of the night on the 13th May, 2000, a flat in Ballymun was set alight. Inside, the body of Derek Benson was found. But his cause of death had nothing to do with the inferno in his bedroom. He had been brutally killed with a blade.

The garda investigation into his murder would not only identify his killers, but a litany of abuse and violence that would continue long after the trial had concluded.

This episode was resear...

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Kitty Carroll was killed by Michael Murphy in Drogheda in 1983 - he would go on to kill again. 

This episode was originally posted to Patreon as a bonus episode in March 2022. Hang in there while I continue to try to get back on track with my work schedule.

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February 29, 2024 41 mins

In March of 2011, 19 year old David Byrne set out to meet someone near to his home in Drimnagh, Dublin City. Little did he know that he was walking into a trap. A panicked chase was caught on CCTV, but the final attack occurred in a dark corner out of sight of any cameras. Could his killer be identified from the footage?

This episode was researched and written by Aileen Spearin.

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In August 2000, 21 year old Julie Tennant went missing from her home in Ballymena. Her parents searched desperately for her, while RUC officers began a search for her. They eventually identified a man she had last been seen with - but when he heard police were searching his home he went on the run.

This episode was researched and written by Aileen Spearin.

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October 16, 2023 8 mins

One of television's most popular true-crime series is now adapted for your ears with the “48 Hours” podcast. Every week, award-winning CBS News correspondents investigate the most intriguing crime and justice cases. Here’s a preview of a new “48 Hours” episode, “The Night of

the Idaho Student Murders”. "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant sits down with family members of Kaylee Goncalves and Xana Kernodle, two of the four Univers...

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Just after 10am, on Wednesday the 29th July 2008, shots rang out on a busy residential road in Kilrush, Co Clare. Two men who lived on the street, Leslie Kenny and Brendan O'Sullivan, had exchanged words, and by the end of that interaction, one of them was lying dead in a front garden.

This episode was researched and written by Aileen Spearin.

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If you have any information on the whereabouts of John Griffin, you can contact Gort Garda Station on (091) 636400, the Garda Confidential line at 1800 666 111 or your local law enforcement agency.

In 2005, a caravan caught fire in rural north Clare, Emer O'Loughlin's family were initially relieved to see that it wasn't the one she shared with her partner Shane. But when human remains were found inside the charred wreckage, and ther...

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28 year old mother of one Norma Crotty appeared on her neighbours doorstep early on the morning of January 3rd, 1995. She was in a distressed state, and was holding a shotgun. It was smoking.

Norma told her neighbour that she had just shot her husband.

This episode was researched and written by Aileen Spearin.

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In September of 2019, Paul Jones was found dead in the hallway of his home on Bandon Road, in Cork. The 54 year old had a chequered past, but for the last decade had lived a quiet and pious life, bothering no one. Despite this, he had suffered 25 stab wounds to his side and had been hit in the head with a long, machete-like blade. Though he had no known quarrels with anyone, there was someone in Paul Jones' life who had a reason ...
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In the early hours of 29th April, 2000, a fire was discovered in an upmarket flat in the seaside resort of Scheveningen, The Hague. Three occupants were found dead in the bathtub - young Irishmen Damien Monahan and Vincent and Morgan Costello. Was the fire an accident, some sort of gangland hit, or something else altogether? This episode was researched and written by Aileen Spearin. ******** Find us on Facebook or Twitter! W...
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In the early hours of 29th November, 2002, 34 year old father of two arrived home from working his shift as the security manager at a popular nightclub in Limerick City. He was shot to death in his driveway in a suspected gangland killing. Would gardai be able to find enough evidence to bring members of one of Limerick's most notorious gangs before a court? This episode was researched and written by Aileen Spearin. ******** F...
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On a chilly Sunday morning in December of 1980, Michael Kelly arrived at a neighbours house in a panic. There was a fire in the house he was staying in nearby, and inside were the two elderly siblings who he was there to look after. Sadly, Margaret and Martin Glynn - siblings in their 80s - were removed from the house and pronounced dead. But was this a tragic accident, or a malicious act driven by greed? This episode was resea...
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In March of 1999, Phillip Colgan and his wife Mary walked into Rathfarnham Garda Station and with a story to tell. It would be his first of many., and it would be up to a jury to decide which was true - and who killed Layla Brennan. This episode was researched and written by Aileen Spearin. ******** Find us on Facebook or Twitter! With thanks to our supporters on Patreon! Donate today to get access to bonus and ad-free episode...
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In August of 2000, Gerry McGinley disappeared from his home near Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh. His wife Julie said he had packed up a plastic bag and had taken off. The police investigation came up with numerous leads. Had Gerry fallen foul of the Real IRA? Or maybe he'd crossed drug dealers? Was his former lover - or indeed her husband - enraged enough to make him run, or worse? It also seemed likely Gerry had been blackmailing local...
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June 5, 2023 41 mins
In the early hours of 2nd February, 2007, a tragedy occurred on the main street of Arklow, Co Wicklow. A man had been struck by a car and lay dying in the road. It soon became clear, however, that this was no accident. But - was it murder? This episode was researched and written by Aileen Spearin. ******** Find us on Facebook or Twitter! With thanks to our supporters on Patreon! Donate today to get access to bonus and ad-fre...
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17 year old Siobhan Hynes went out with friends to the small village of an Cheathru Rua on the night of Sat 5th December 1998. She never made it home. Siobhan's body was found the following day, on the foreshore of a nearby beach. How could something like this happen in such a small, isolated community? This episode was researched and written by Aileen Spearin. ******** Find us on Facebook or Twitter! With thanks to our supporters...
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In the summer of 2005, Celine Conroy decided to pack up her three kids to spend the summer in Spain alongside her partner Paul Hickey. But rather than a relaxing escape from her life back in Dublin, the holiday ended in horror. This episode was researched and written by Aileen Spearin. ******** Find us on Facebook or Twitter! With thanks to our supporters on Patreon! Donate today to get access to bonus and ad-free episodes! C...
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On the night of the 11th Nov, 2003, Patricia Conroy frantically searched the small midlands town of Mountmellick for her 14 year old son Darragh. He wasn't answering the new mobile phone he'd just received and he hadn't come home when expected. Ms Conroy had no idea that hours earlier, Darragh had crossed paths with a schoolmate - 16 year old Darren Goodwin - and her son would not be coming home. This episode was researched and ...
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In January of 2016, people started to find body parts wrapped in shopping bags on a stretch of the Grand Canal in Co. Kildare. To gardai, this looked like a gangland hit. But when the remains were identified as 33 year old Kenneth O'Brien, it was quickly determined that he was not known to be involved in anything illegal. Why was Kenneth O'Brien killed? This episode was researched and written by Aileen Spearin. ******** Fin...
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In June of 1991, 21 year old newly-wed Alison Shaughnessy was found lying in a pool of blood at the entrance to her flat in London by her husband John. After a stalled police investigation, two women were arrested and tried for Alison's murder. But is it possible that what was presented to the court as motive for her murder, gleaned from a 21 year old woman's diary, had pointed police in the wrong direction? Who killed Alison S...
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