Laura Marshall, 31, was found partially submerged in a bath at her Co Armagh home in 2016, and an inquest has heard she had allegedly told relatives her partner had threatened to kill her
A woman discovered dead in a bathtub had previously confided to a relative that her partner had threatened to murder her, subjected her to routine violence, and burned her with scalding water, a coroner’s court has been told.
The remains of 31-year-old Laura Marshall were found partly immersed in bath water at her County Armagh residence in 2016. The dental nurse’s battered body was discovered by a maintenance worker, following complaints from a downstairs resident about water seeping into his Lurgan flat.
Ms Marshall had been residing in the Victoria Street apartment with her partner Gary O’Dowd. Testifying at the inquest at Laganside Courthouse in Belfast, Ms Marshall’s cousin Deirdre Toman said her relative had endured abuse from Mr O’Dowd.
The hearing was told Ms Marshall alleged Mr O’Dowd was assaulting her, that he was “torturing her mentally and physically”, and that she wished to escape the relationship. Mrs Toman said Ms Marshall disclosed to her that she had spent two weeks at the Royal Victoria Hospital and needed skin graft surgery after Mr O’Dowd had allegedly hurled a kettle of boiling water over her.
He allegedly told her she was “lucky” and that it would be her face the next time, and that he would “ruin her for life”. She told Mrs Toman she was terrified of him, that she “couldn’t tell anyone the truth” and that he had threatened to “kill her”, the inquest heard.
Mrs Toman revealed that the last time she saw her cousin was on her wedding day in March 2016, just weeks before Ms Marshall’s tragic death. She told the inquest: “She deserves to be remembered for who she was, for the people who loved her, and the life she lived.
“The injuries Laura sustained were extremely serious, and it is important that the circumstances surrounding them are fully understood. Whatever conclusions are reached, the extent and nature of those injuries should not simply be accepted without proper scrutiny. Laura deserves answers. She deserves to be heard, and above all, she deserves not to be forgotten.”
She painted a picture of Ms Marshall as a “very bubbly” individual who was kind-hearted and deeply cared for those around her. Mrs Toman shared that her cousin relished spending time with her family and friends and had an outgoing personality. She also informed the court that Ms Marshall had a love for travel and would find employment wherever she went.
The court was told that in May 2015, Ms Marshall had reached out to Mrs Toman to inform her she was in hospital for burns, claiming she had scalded herself with a hot water bottle. However, after discharging herself from hospital, Ms Marshall later confided in Mrs Toman that Mr O’Dowd had allegedly thrown a kettle filled with boiling water over her.
Mrs Toman disclosed that she received texts from Ms Marshall in the months following the incident, in which she claimed Mr O’Dowd was assaulting her and that she could no longer endure it. Mrs Toman revealed that she had tried multiple times to help her leave the flat she shared with her partner, but each time Ms Marshall would assure her they had “sorted things out”.
On the morning of Mrs Toman’s wedding, which Ms Marshall attended, Mr O’Dowd, who was not invited, attempted to ruin her hair after she returned from the hairdressers, the inquest heard. The inquest previously heard that Mr O’Dowd was charged with the murder of Ms Marshall in April 2016.
Aidan Sands’ barrister, acting as counsel for the coroner, stated that Mr O’Dowd had denied the offence and “had given a full account of his movements to the police in interview”. In February 2018, the charges were dropped by the Public Prosecution Service.
In a written statement, Ms Marshall’s aunt Caroline Kerr described the moment she found out about her niece’s death. She said she “didn’t know what to think”, and that she knew Ms Marshall “wouldn’t kill herself”.
Ms Kerr revealed that Ms Marshall was close to her family and regularly visited them, but after meeting Mr O’Dowd, she stopped visiting, seldom made contact, and no-one could visit her. She alleged that Mr O’Dowd was “in complete control of her”.
In the statement read out at the inquest, Ms Kerr said: “The last time I saw Laura was at a family wedding on Saturday, the 19th of March. Laura was beautiful. She was bubbly and enjoying the day, Gary hadn’t been invited to the wedding. Laura was loving it and was brilliant, full of fun. We all had a super day. She was talking to everyone.”
She also claimed she heard Mr O’Dowd was an “alcoholic and a fighter”. Ms Kerr stated: “I had also heard that he had nearly killed the girl he had gone out with before. O’Dowd had a very bad reputation. Laura’s nature was that she loved being with her family. She loved parties. She loved being in the centre of everything. We didn’t see her at all since she began going out with O’Dowd.”
PSNI crime scene investigator Ian Gibson informed the inquest that he visited Ms Marshall’s flat on April 4, 2016. He reported that swabs of blood were taken from the doorframe of the bathroom, the skirting board in the bathroom, a pool of blood, the toilet lid, inside doorframe of the bathroom and back of the bathroom door.
The inquest is set to continue next week.
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