A CENTRAL CRIMINAL Court jury has convicted a 22-year-old woman of disguising herself as her dead grandmother, who had been bludgeoned to death by her mother’s partner, in order to conceal her murder.

Father-of-three Kieran Greene (35) was yesterday found guilty of murdering retired hospital worker Patricia O’Connor (61) and inflicting “catastrophic injuries” on her in a sustained attack, which lasted up to 20 minutes and took place in the bathroom of her Rathfarnham home.

The deceased’s granddaughter Stephanie O’Connor was today found guilty of impeding the apprehension or prosecution of Greene, knowing or believing him to have murdered Mrs O’Connor on 29 May 2017.

The jury accepted the State’s case that, in order to cover up the murder, Stephanie O’Connor had dressed up as her grandmother as “a ruse” to pretend that Mrs O’Connor had stormed out of the house on the night.

Stephanie O’Connor had pleaded not guilty to disguising herself as Mrs O’Connor at Mountainview Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14 at a point in time after her murder on 29 May 2017 in order to conceal the fact that she was already dead.

The seven-week trial heard that the body of Mrs O’Connor, of Mountainview Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14 was dismembered into 15 separate parts that were found at nine different locations over a 30km range in the Dublin and Wicklow mountains between 10 and 14 June 2017.

Former Depute State Pathologist, Dr Michael Curtis, gave evidence that Mrs O’Connor’s head was struck a minimum of three blows with a solid implement and the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head.

Stephanie O’Connor, of Millmount Court, Dundrum Road, Dublin 14 was charged with impeding the apprehension or prosecution of Kieran Greene, knowing or believing him to have committed an arrestable offence, to wit the murder of Mrs O’Connor on 29 May  2017.

The jury will continue their deliberations tomorrow in relation to the two other accused, Louise O’Connor and Keith Johnston.

Mother-of-five Louise O’Connor has pleaded not guilty to agreeing to or acquiescing in her daughter Stephanie O’Connor disguising herself as Mrs O’Connor at Mountainview Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14 on 29 May 2017 in order to conceal the fact that Patricia O’Connor was dead.

Keith Johnston has pleaded not guilty to assisting Mr Greene in the purchase of various implements at Woodie’s, Mr Price, B&Q and Shoe Zone, Tallaght, Dublin 24 on 9 June 2017, which were to be deployed in the concealment of the remains of Mrs O’Connor.

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