40 - Chaos, Neglect & Abuse: The Killing of Melissa Mahon

In September of 2006, Melissa Mahon (14) went missing in Sligo Town. She was supposed to in the care of the Health Service, but she had developed a habit of running away. That summer, she had met some new friends. The Dunbar girls. And through them, their father, Ronnie Dunbar.

Nearly two years later, Melissa's remains would be found in the nearby River Bonet after a shocking confession of her friend.

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Quinn’s Song: The Dance Begins by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Sources:
Bronagh Murphy, The Killing of Melissa Mahon and the trial of Ronnie Dunbar (Dublin: Gill & Macmillan, 2009) Available to purchase here 

DPP -v- Ronald McManus (aka Ronald Dunbar) [2011] IECCA 32 

Abigail Rieley, “Tragic Melissa's troubled existence” in The Irish Independent https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/tragic-melissas-troubled-existence-26531504.html ( 26 April 2009) 

Child protections Plans from Citizen's Information (UK) https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/children-and-young-people/child-abuse/local-authority-involvement/child-abuse-child-protection-plans/ 

Harry Keany, 'Dunbar's daughter tells of her years of hell” in The Irish Independent https://www.independent.ie/regionals/sligochampion/news/dunbars-daughter-tells-of-her-years-of-hell-27591675.html (23 May 2012) 

Fiach Kelly, “Life and terrible death of a teenager” in The Irish Independent https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/courts/life-and-terrible-death-of-a-teenager-26539443.html (28 May 2009) 

“Recorded Conversations” in The Irish Independent https://www.independent.ie/regionals/sligochampion/news/recorded-conversations-27564496.html (20 May 2009) 

Dan Buckley, “Cool and calculating, he preyed on victim” in The Irish Examiner https://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/icrime/cool-and-calculating-he-preyed-on-victim-96167.html (11 July 2009) 

“Dunbar gets life for killing teen” from RTE.ie https://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0710/119420-mahonm/ (10 July 2009) 

“Sister told me that father murdered girl, says accused's daughter” from Breakingnews.ie https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/sister-told-me-that-father-murdered-girl-says-accuseds-daughter-408816.html (29 April 2009) 

“McManus sentenced to life in jail for 2006 killing of Sligo teenager” in The Irish Times https://www.irishtimes.com/news/mcmanus-sentenced-to-life-in-jail-for-2006-killing-of-sligo-teenager-1.697198 (11 July 2009) 

Paddy Clancy, “Melissa Mahon inquest told of desperate attempts to keep her in the caee of the HSE” in The Irish Times https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/melissa-mahon-inquest-told-of-desperate-attempts-to-keep-her-in-the-care-of-the-hse-1.1417728 (5 June 2013) 

Harry Keaney, “Dunbar's daughter tells of her years of hell” in The Irish Independent https://www.independent.ie/regionals/sligochampion/news/dunbars-daughter-tells-of-her-years-of-hell-27591675.html (23 May 2012)