How a 23-year-old's death remained unprosecuted despite confession and coroner's verdict
On 28 August 1976, Elizabeth Plunkett was abducted from Brittas Bay, County Wicklow, by two English serial killers planning a spree of rape and murder across Ireland. Her body was found a month later—but she never saw justice in court.
Quick Facts
On 28 August 1976, Elizabeth Plunkett, a 23-year-old from Ringsend, Dublin, vanished following a night out in Brittas Bay, County Wicklow. She would never return home.
Plunkett was abducted by Geoffrey Evans and John Shaw, two English nationals who had traveled to Ireland with a chilling plan: to rape and murder one woman per week. The pair had prior criminal history—both had served time for burglary in Cork after a two-year sentence, with Shaw released after just 18 months.
That August night, Plunkett became their target. She was abducted, repeatedly raped, and murdered. To dispose of her body, the killers tied it to a lawnmower and dumped it in the Irish Sea off the Wicklow coast. On 28 September 1976—exactly one month later—her remains washed ashore on Duncormick beach in County Wexford, over 110 kilometers away.
Evans and Shaw were arrested on 26 September 1976 by the Garda Síochána, just days before Plunkett's body was discovered. On 29 September, they were charged with rape and murder—but not just Plunkett's.
While investigating the pair, authorities uncovered another victim: Mary Duffy, 23, who had been abducted on 22 September 1976 in Castlebar. Duffy was raped, beaten over two days, and murdered. Her body was dumped in Lough Inagh, County Galway. For Duffy's murder, Evans and Shaw were convicted.
But for Elizabeth Plunkett, justice would prove elusive.
Despite the circumstances of her death being widely documented and accepted as fact across books, articles, and by authorities, the Director of Public Prosecutions made a startling decision: the charges against John Shaw relating to Plunkett's rape and murder were withdrawn. No conviction was ever secured for her killing.
