Episode 976: Jo Jo Dullard and her family's never-ending fight for justice

During Martin Earley’s murder trial the Collins family sit through almost five weeks of evidence. They hear about his various statements made to the gardai and about allegations that claim he’s asked people if the Collins family got some evidence of Sandra’s death, ‘like a bone’, would they give up looking for her. They learn about her movements on the last day she was seen, and the amount of time she spent in a local phone box, where she was spotted behaving in a distraught manner. A GP gives evidence where he tells how he confirmed to Sandra a couple of days before she went missing that she was pregnant again. When the prosecution rests their case, the defence ask the judge to dismiss the case on account of lack of evidence. The Collins family must wait for his decision.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Collins family are completely blindsided by Martin Earley’s arrest. None of them have ever heard of him. Ann O’Grady has since died but never mentioned his name to them or any involvement a local married man might have had with Sandra. Earley is charged with Sandra’s murder, and her family must now prepare themselves for his trial. When it finally starts in May 2024 they are shocked to finally hear details of her life in Killala that they were clueless about.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Retired garda detective Eddie Naugton spent the last 16 years of his career working on the Sandra Collins case. He remembers all the details and who was investigated. He recalls how few days after Sandra went missing, a local plasterer called Martin Earley dropped into the garda station to inquire how the search was going. Suspicions are raised about this married man and why he’s so interested in what has happened to a woman he claims to have only met in recent weeks. There is no sign of Sandra, her family cling on to hope that she has simply moved away. But in 2010 her case is finally upgraded to a murder inquiry.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On 5th December 2000 Ann O’Grady rings the Collins family to tell them Sandra has failed to return home after being out the night before. A major search is launched, covering miles of the surrounding countryside. Lifeboats comb the nearby waters, but there’s no sign of Sandra, apart from her dark pink coloured fleece jacket, which mysteriously turns up on the pier five days after she goes missing. There are two scraps of paper in the pockets, one has the phone number for an abortion clinic in the UK, the other has a mobile number for a local man. But the Collins family aren’t told who he is or what his connection to Sandra is about.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sandra visits home every Sunday evening to see her family, however, they know little about her day-to-day existence in Killala. They are shocked when she reveals her pregnancy in the late 90s but are also completely supportive. Sandra makes the difficult decision to give her baby daughter up for adoption. The Collins family are deeply saddened by the move but understand it. A short time later, they experience a huge tragedy when their brother James is killed in a horrific workplace accident. It takes a toll on all of them, and Sandra must deal with her grief without them close by.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.