the DNA changes slightly, it mutates. So what the
scientists have told us is that within those ‘inconclusives’ it is unlikely that it is a match but it may be a mutation and they cannot be totally eliminated. Within those 44
samples, there are some that are as absolutely close to the Y - STR profile without being an actual match. That is something we have to consider
and have long considered. In one particular case over in England it turned out that one of the ‘inconclusives’ in a DNA trawl was indeed a male relative of
that ‘crime scene donor’ who was being sought.
It is a distance of 40 miles from Larne to Ballypatrick Forest. The most direct route is on the A 2, which travels along the coast through Ballygalley, Carnlough and
Cushendall before heading inland slightly. Just a few miles on and a turn off to the left is Ballypatrick Forest. Driving within the speed limit, and allowing for a number of vehicles leaving Larne
from the ferry that evening, it is likely that a straight journey to Ballypatrick Forest would have taken about an hour. There is also another possible route to the forest, which is less direct but
which police have also had to consider. Whoever drove Inga-Maria away from Larne could have driven west towards Ballymena before heading north on the A 26 heading for
Ballycastle on the north coast. This journey would have brought Inga-Maria close to Cloughmills and Loughguile and then through Armoy before the driver could have gone through Ballycastle and
travelled south to Ballypatrick Forest. It’s a more roundabout journey involving a distance of almost 50 miles and a journey time of 80 minutes. It seems less likely that this is the way
Inga’s killer travelled, but it’s a possibility nonetheless. Even if it wasn’t the way Inga-Maria was brought to the forest, it could have been the route which served as a return
journey for the killer or killers as they made their escape.
Whatever vehicle the killer or killers used to travel into the depths of Ballypatrick Forest, it was quite possibly a particularly sturdy vehicle. It would have been driven along dirt-tracks
within the forest in darkness, and a killer who gave enough thought into travelling that far into the forest may well have felt secure in that his vehicle was reliable in difficult terrain; perhaps
it was a jeep, or a truck or a van. As detectives strive to keep an open mind on what may have occurred, they have also considered that the vehicle which brought Inga-Maria to her death in the
forest may not have been the same vehicle that she was either abducted in or accepted a lift in at Larne. Is it possible that Inga-Maria was taken to some location before she was transferred into
another vehicle and then taken to her death in Ballypatrick Forest?
The PSNI has long pondered these types of questions, with detectives having brainstorming sessions, trying to think ‘outside the box’. The fact that the 1,000
men who were prioritised for giving DNA samples failed to unlock the mystery has led officers to analyse and re-analyse the case. And they are learning new information all
the time, in doing recent house-to-house enquiries and carrying out the recent voluntary sampling of men in the locality. Every piece of information is put into the mix. “The screening
process has been good not only in terms of the forensic investigation, but also in terms of building up information,” says Raymond Murray. “It’s like an onion, layer upon layer of
information. Who was in the docks, who was in the forest, who was in a particular place in Co. Antrim, what people were driving lorries, what people were driving cars. The account has grown
substantially since 2005.”
Back in Munich, Almut shows me more artwork that her daughter did in school. Inga-Maria was just two months short of her nineteenth birthday when she left for her trip to Britain and Ireland.
She hadn’t decided what she wanted to do when she left school
scientists have told us is that within those ‘inconclusives’ it is unlikely that it is a match but it may be a mutation and they cannot be totally eliminated. Within those 44
samples, there are some that are as absolutely close to the Y - STR profile without being an actual match. That is something we have to consider
and have long considered. In one particular case over in England it turned out that one of the ‘inconclusives’ in a DNA trawl was indeed a male relative of
that ‘crime scene donor’ who was being sought.
It is a distance of 40 miles from Larne to Ballypatrick Forest. The most direct route is on the A 2, which travels along the coast through Ballygalley, Carnlough and
Cushendall before heading inland slightly. Just a few miles on and a turn off to the left is Ballypatrick Forest. Driving within the speed limit, and allowing for a number of vehicles leaving Larne
from the ferry that evening, it is likely that a straight journey to Ballypatrick Forest would have taken about an hour. There is also another possible route to the forest, which is less direct but
which police have also had to consider. Whoever drove Inga-Maria away from Larne could have driven west towards Ballymena before heading north on the A 26 heading for
Ballycastle on the north coast. This journey would have brought Inga-Maria close to Cloughmills and Loughguile and then through Armoy before the driver could have gone through Ballycastle and
travelled south to Ballypatrick Forest. It’s a more roundabout journey involving a distance of almost 50 miles and a journey time of 80 minutes. It seems less likely that this is the way
Inga’s killer travelled, but it’s a possibility nonetheless. Even if it wasn’t the way Inga-Maria was brought to the forest, it could have been the route which served as a return
journey for the killer or killers as they made their escape.
Whatever vehicle the killer or killers used to travel into the depths of Ballypatrick Forest, it was quite possibly a particularly sturdy vehicle. It would have been driven along dirt-tracks
within the forest in darkness, and a killer who gave enough thought into travelling that far into the forest may well have felt secure in that his vehicle was reliable in difficult terrain; perhaps
it was a jeep, or a truck or a van. As detectives strive to keep an open mind on what may have occurred, they have also considered that the vehicle which brought Inga-Maria to her death in the
forest may not have been the same vehicle that she was either abducted in or accepted a lift in at Larne. Is it possible that Inga-Maria was taken to some location before she was transferred into
another vehicle and then taken to her death in Ballypatrick Forest?
The PSNI has long pondered these types of questions, with detectives having brainstorming sessions, trying to think ‘outside the box’. The fact that the 1,000
men who were prioritised for giving DNA samples failed to unlock the mystery has led officers to analyse and re-analyse the case. And they are learning new information all
the time, in doing recent house-to-house enquiries and carrying out the recent voluntary sampling of men in the locality. Every piece of information is put into the mix. “The screening
process has been good not only in terms of the forensic investigation, but also in terms of building up information,” says Raymond Murray. “It’s like an onion, layer upon layer of
information. Who was in the docks, who was in the forest, who was in a particular place in Co. Antrim, what people were driving lorries, what people were driving cars. The account has grown
substantially since 2005.”
Back in Munich, Almut shows me more artwork that her daughter did in school. Inga-Maria was just two months short of her nineteenth birthday when she left for her trip to Britain and Ireland.
She hadn’t decided what she wanted to do when she left school
Similar Books
