Chapter 1: What happened after the trials of John Shaw and Geoffrey Evans?
In the years after the trials, history began to record John Shaw and Geoffrey Evans as convicted serial killers.
Irish press, January 21st, 1983. Englishman Geoffrey Evans was attacked by a group of prisoners, one wielding a hammer, at Mountjoy Prison on Monday evening. Evans and his accomplice Shaw were convicted of the murder of Dublin girl Elizabeth Plunkett of Ringsend and Castle Bar girl Mary Duffy Plunkett.
Through the following decades, Sean Evans would occasionally feature in the news. But when they did, coverage suggested each of them had been convicted of all crimes against Mary and Elizabeth. Irish Examiner, 24th November 2004. Serial killers unlikely to walk free. Fears that the state's only known serial killers could soon be set free again.
And this was the narrative the Plunkett family always believed, that Shaw and Evans had been convicted of Elizabeth's murder. In 2009, Geoffrey Evans had a massive stroke which left him in a coma for three years.
Well, a chapter in one of the most notorious crimes ever committed on these islands closed in the last 24 hours with the death of Geoffrey Evans. Sean Evans killed a number of women.
When Geoffrey Evans died, no family members came forward to claim his body.
He was buried by the Irish Prison Service in an unmarked grave.
John Shaw remained in prison, but in recent years he's been applying for parole. And in 2016, aged 71, Shaw made a new application to get temporary release from prison, as detailed in the Irish Examiner. In April 2016, the Prison Review Committee noted Shaw was In those 38 years, he had only ever received one family visit.
In June 2016, a risk assessment of Shaw found him to be at a high-level risk of re-offending. Areas of particular concern were deviant sexual preference, hostility towards women, general social rejection and lack of concern for others. Despite this, the Parole Board recommended Shaw be granted two days escorted outings per year.
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Chapter 2: How did the Plunkett family react to John Shaw's parole application?
This way, how it affected you that way. When Elizabeth died, it completely changed her family. Bernie was 18. Our confidence changed. Felt so insecure, didn't we? I remember somebody even saying to me, why have you this wall? It's very hard to break down the wall. You have... 14-year-old Kathleen found parts of her life hard to manage. I said this in my submissions that I had a very short fuse.
I had a ball of anger. And I found it very hard to keep friends because I'd snap. Like I couldn't regulate my feelings as a 14-year-old. Her life was chaos. But life had to move on for Elizabeth's siblings. And as the decades passed, there were marriages, careers, children, and more recently, grandchildren. We've had to get on with our lives. It's been extremely difficult.
Married, you're still married. My marriage broke up. Had our children. And our children now know the stories. Are getting affected by the stories. Yeah. So this was the depth of feeling that Bernie and Kathleen put into their submission to the parole board. I kind of put my heart and soul into it because I thought it would really help. And I pulled myself inside out.
Very personal things in there which I deeply regret. Because the prisoner gets to read them. Bernie and Kathleen wrote their submissions in the knowledge that John Shaw was allowed to read all of what they submitted. That's just part of the process. And then we had a meeting over in the parole boards.
A lovely lady and a gentleman sat in front of them and thought, that's it, we've done our very best now. There's no way he'll get parole. That was April 2023. Then, a few months later, solicitor Amy McComiskey received alarming news. In August 23, I received a phone call from the parole board to say that... There was an error in the information that they had been provided with, in fairness.
Dear Ms McComiskey, re your clients Bernadette Barry and Kathleen Nolan. Application for parole by John Shaw.
Remember, Elizabeth's siblings grew up believing that John Shaw had been convicted on all charges relating to their sister Elizabeth. And on top of that, somewhere in the state records, it was written that Shaw was in prison for Elizabeth's murder. Until now.
We get a letter to say it has come to our attention that Shaw... It has come to the attention of the parole board that it was informed in error by Angar the Seacona that John Shaw was convicted of the murders of both Ms Elizabeth Plunkett and Ms Mary Duffy.
As we told you in the last episode, what we now know happened is that the DPP had at some stage in the late 1970s entered a nollie prosequi, suspending the trial against John Shaw on all charges relating to Elizabeth. It got to the stage that the lie was told so many times that everybody believes it's true. You know, they're in jail for Liz.
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Chapter 3: What does registering as a victim with the parole board entail?
Producer with RTE Documentary and One, Nicolene Greer, was at the inquest.
The fact that the inquest concluded today meant that a death certificate for Elizabeth was also issued and the cause of death was recorded officially as asphyxiation. But as for holding someone responsible for Elizabeth's death... And Gardaí to do a cold case review. That's what the Plunkett family really want now. Justice. And that may well happen now.
Because as this series has been publishing, over a dozen witnesses have come forward with new information about John Shaw and Geoffrey Evans. We crouched down inside the wall and could hear the car stop at the other side of the wall. We could hear them saying something in English accents and walking around. And I was 12 and a half years old.
He followed and kept chatting to me all the while.
All of these new witnesses and all of what they have to tell is coming in our seventh and final episode. And I said to him, what do you want? Like that, I roared at him. And all he said to me was one word. You. You. Stolen Sister is narrated by me, Roz Purcell. The music is by Oscar-winning composer Stephen Warbeck and performed by the RTE Concert Orchestra.
And sound design and orchestra recordings are by me, Ciarán Dunn. Production assistance is by me, Seána MacGreevy. And me, Tim Desmond.
And the series is written and produced by me, Nicolene Greer. Readings in this episode were by Ronan Kelly. The executive producer is Liam O'Brien. If you've been affected by any issues raised in this episode, please visit rte.ie forward slash helplines. Join us next time for our final episode. Until then, thanks for listening.
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