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She worked as a consultant forensic pathologist in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology in Glasgow for 13 years. Cassidy believes that had they held off for another 10 years, it might have been possible to obtain a conclusive result. The Crown cleared the late McInnes of any involvement in the Bible John murders in July 1996. It used to be, people would use these experts [in Irish court] if it suited them and we all knew a load of baloney was coming out of their mouth,” she says. “I think now in the UK and Ireland most of the experts are pretty straight. I’ve come across some dubious ones in the past, but I think that’s been weeded out.” Born in Glasgow, her parents were from Donegal. She lives in London now and is married with two children. In recent years, Marie took up ballet, a hobby she had as a child. It was only literally when I produced my book [Beyond the Tape], and they had a look at it and there was a sort of stony silence and I thought, ‘oh dear God it must have been really bad," she explained.
The problem was it made me become a bit reclusive," she says. "I thought: 'Well, I can't go out and get rip-roaring drunk' because people would be going, 'Is that not Marie Cassidy falling over in the street there?' Dr. Cassidy looks at the impact these deaths have had on families they have left behind and what justice means to them. She also explores the link between femicide and online pornography, recalling the death of Ana Kriégel, the case which prompted her to resign. Ray told Marie that the first time he saw her, he thought of Kay Scarpetta, the medical examiner protagonist of Patricia Cornwall’s series of crime novels. She’s described as "diminutive, glamorous and blonde" – "a bit like yourself", Ray adds to Marie, who takes a second or two to reply, laughing, "But I was the real thing". She was, Ray says, a woman in a man’s world. But, Marie says, she never felt like any of her colleagues had a problem working with her.
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I’m a bit like that. I’ll work very hard but at the end of the day, it should be fun, but I will take it very seriously. I think I’ve got middle child syndrome — you’re the serious one, the one that everybody depends on, so you know you have to do things well.” Born in Glasgow — with Donegal roots — Prof Cassidy first came here in 1998 to work as deputy to the then-State pathologist, the late John Harbison.
Forensic pathologists, I think we’ve long since accepted are not entirely normal. We are a peculiar breed of people.” Cassidy is also something of a celebrity here, having appeared on numerous reality TV shows and fronted many documentaries. Meanwhile, her mother became the breadwinner. "When my dad became ill and then died, she had to take over the coal business and go out on the lorry," says Cassidy. "Not that she was carrying the bags of coal. She would have drawn the line at that. There’s not much I can do about people who think that it’s a bit odd. Well, it is — the whole thing is very odd — but I’m just there to have some fun. It’s an opportunity to do something you haven’t done before,” she said of the response. The ‘death investigation circus’ — as that same tabloid had referred to Irish law enforcement’s arrival to a murder scene — had come to town, creating a dark contrast to the unusually warm late summer’s day. Terry, the journalist in question had suggested, was the ‘alluring female ring mistress’.
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In the future, postmortems may be replaced with virtopsies, she says, with bodies examined using scanned images such as CT, instead of being cut open. That method was already used to a limited extent during Covid. Among the high-profile cases Cassidy worked on in Scotland was the exhumation of John Irvine McInnes in 1996. He had been an early suspect in the Bible John murders in Glasgow.
Marie Therese Jane Cassidy (born 1955) is a pathologist and academic. From 2004 to 2018 she was State Pathologist of Ireland, the first woman to hold the position. [1] She is Professor of Forensic Medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland and Trinity College, Dublin.Cassidy lobbied unabashedly for Taggart to feature a female forensic pathologist – rather than the stereotypical middle-aged bearded male. She finally got her wish in 2001. While we waited, we had a look around. This was obviously a little hidey-hole used by illicit drinkers and drug- takers, as well as a secluded spot for ‘romantic’ liaisons, inferred from the detritus left behind by the visitors. I was not surprised to be shown a condom wrapper and condoms hanging from the branches of a nearby tree and discarded beer cans. Every artefact was photographed in situ, bagged and labelled. The pile of evidence was growing into a sizeable mound. No one knows at this stage of an investigation what will be relevant. By now we had our ‘forensic’ version of the circumstances. The gardaí would make further investigations and collate the evidence to prepare their version. But the killer was out there somewhere, and he would have his version of what had John Gilligan lifts lid on life of crime and suspected role his gang played in Veronica Guerin's murder Still, those were different times. She tells a story of going for a senior registrar post in Scotland, in her early days, and being criticised for being "too honest" and told she'd never do well in her chosen career. When the job went to a less-qualified male colleague, she shrugged it off. "They told me I'd get it next round, but I didn't want it." Beyond the Tape is not a book for the squeamish and most definitely not a book to be read while eating. There are disturbing scenes of quite a graphic nature so be prepared. It is, however, a compelling and very unique opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes ‘exposé’ of pathology and all it’s workings from the perspective of this true power-house of a woman.