Murdered Annie McCarrick was assaulted by someone she knew in the weeks before her disappearance, it has been claimed.
The American woman’s friends and family have revealed she was being harassed by a man who was physically violent to her shortly before she went missing 30 years ago.
A new true crime documentary focusing on the cases of several missing women raises fresh questions and suggests that a serial killer may have been at large.
Read more: Handbag of missing Annie McCarrick may have been given to garda station in 1993
The RTE series reveals Annie’s family and friends tried to highlight concerns that someone she knew had struck her before she went missing.
But gardai involved in the original investigation told the programme the information was not brought to their attention at the time of her disappearance.
Annie’s mother Nancy McCarrick told the documentary: “We found out from her friends that she had been having quite a bit of difficulty with someone she knew.
“We were totally unaware of that. She hadn’t let us know about it.
“I guess she thought she could handle it herself and things would be alright.”
Tragic Long Island native Annie, who was an only child, vanished without a trace after telling friends she was heading for a walk in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, on March 26, 1993.
The last confirmed sighting of the 27-year-old was captured on CCTV shortly before 11am at the AIB on Sandymount Road on the day she went missing.
There were also reported sightings of her boarding the No 44 bus for Enniskerry, and she was also allegedly spotted in the village and at Johnny Fox’s pub.
But the true crime series presents fresh evidence that Annie was seen with a man in Poppie’s cafe in Enniskerry on the day she disappeared.
Una Wogan told the programme her late mother Margaret saw the American woman mid-afternoon as she was about to leave work.
Una said: “At the end of her shift she was ready to go around four o’clock... and the American woman came in with a man and they ordered some food.
“Two things I do remember very clearly that the man was shorter than Annie and that he had a square face...
Read more: Exact timeline of Annie McCarrick's disappearance as gardai launch murder probe
“The jaw was quite square lined, the whole face, so that’s what stood out to her about him.” Una said her mother told gardai about this sighting when detectives canvassed Enniskerry in the days after Annie’s disappearance.
She added: “My mam never doubted that she saw Annie McCarrick with a man in Enniskerry the day she went missing.
“Mammy went forward and spoke to a detective and I’m very curious as to why the guards never followed up, never contacted her to get more details?”
The US woman’s aunt Maureen Covell revealed: “I was told something in confidence by Annie that someone that Annie had known had struck her when they were in a drunken state.” Annie’s childhood best friend, Linda Ringhouse, told the documentary a number of faxes were sent to gardai in the days after Annie vanished.
Linda said: “Four or five of us each faxed statements.
“One of the things that’s really frustrating is that we were never contacted by the Garda regarding our faxes and some of the information we put in...
“Information that to us was very telling at least, you know, something to be questioned but it never happened as far as I can remember.”
Former detective Tom Rock, who led the Annie McCarrick missing persons incident room, said neither he nor the investigation team ever received the faxes.
He told the programme: “These faxes never came into the possession of the investigation team. I was never aware of these faxes.
“They definitely would have taken the investigation in a different direction.
“That is a source of annoyance and frustration to me and I would know to be a source of annoyance and frustration to all of the investigation team.”
His colleague, Val Smyth, was the detective tasked with questioning the people named by Annie’s family at the time of her disappearance. He said: “I’m not aware that anyone known to Annie hit her.
“There was never any question of… assaulting Annie at any time.”
Read more: Probe into 1993 disappearance of Annie McCarrick upgraded to murder inquiry
Annie’s case was formally upgraded to a murder probe ahead of the 30th anniversary of her disappearance in March this year.
The move followed a written request from her mother to Garda Commissioner Drew Harris.
Nancy shared memories of her daughter in the documentary revealing: “She was funny.
“Yes, she was very reliable. She was conscientious. She wasn’t fearful. She couldn’t find fault with Ireland. It makes a huge difference to hear that her case has been upgraded to a murder investigation.
“You never know, it might prompt someone to come forward after all these years. As far as justice or retribution I have no interest in it at all.
“My fondest wish would just be to find out what happened to her. To be able to have a grave to visit.”
Detectives re-examining the case have pledged to leave no stone unturned in their bid to nab her killer.
Gardai have collected more than 5,000 documents and taken in excess of 300 statements in the three decades the investigation has remained open.
Det Supt Eddie Carroll revealed at a press hearing that he had recently visited Nancy in New York.
He said at the time: “There are person or persons, who have information on the disappearance of Annie McCarrick and her murder on or about 26 March 1993. And who haven’t yet spoken to gardai or who may have already spoken to gardai but were not in a position to tell everything that they know at that time.”
Gardai are now believed to be focusing their investigation on a suspect who lived close to Sandymount in the same Dublin neighbourhood as the missing woman.
The RTE series Missing: Beyond the Vanishing Triangle explores the idea of a ‘triangle’ covering locations from Dundalk to Wexford to Offaly in the Midlands.
It examines the cases of several missing women including Annie and Deirdre Jacob posing the question of whether a serial killer abducted and murdered them.
- Episode One of Missing: Beyond the Vanishing Triangle is on RTE One and RTE Player tomorrow at 9.35pm.
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