UK Marian Beattie, 18, body found at the bottom of Hadden's Quarry, NIR, 30 March 1973

[dotr]

BBC
1973 teenager murder case reopened
5 August 2013
''Marian Beattie lived in Portadown but had been at a charity dance at Hadden's Garage in Aughnacloy on 30 March 1973.

She was seen leaving the dance just after 1am with a young man.

Five hours later her partially-clothed body was found at the bottom of Hadden's Quarry between Aughnacloy and Ballygawley.

The investigation has been reopened after a review of the case by the PSNI's serious crime branch.

Det Insp Peter Montgomery said: "We believe Marian and a man left the dance at Hadden's Garage and went to the nearby car park at the top of Hadden's Quarry about 400 yards away which was frequented by courting couples.

"Something happened there but we have no evidence to suggest Marian was sexually assaulted."

Det Insp Montgomery said detectives were working to identify the man with whom Marian left the dance.''

 

[dotr]

BBC Radio Ulster - The Nolan Show - 'The Murder of Marian Beattie'

6th September 2019
Heartbroken family of murdered girl in plea to anonymous letter writer
''After leaving the dance near at Hadden’s Quarry near Aughnacloy with a man it is thought there may have been a struggle and Marian fell more than 100 foot to the bottom of the quarry.''

''The killer then made his way to Marian’s body where items of Marian’s clothes were removed. Spent matches were found, which it is thought the culprit used to illuminate the scene.''

''Criminologist and Author Robert Giles who has been investigating Marian’s murder for several years and has been working with the Beattie family said: “An anonymous letter was received at the start of July, which contained interesting information about the case of Marian Beattie.

“We would like to thank that person for sending the letter and appeal to that individual to please get in touch again. This individual will be spoken with in the strictest confidence. Their anonymity will be respected.”

 

[Antonia]

BBC Radio Ulster - The Nolan Show - 'The Murder of Marian Beattie'

6th September 2019
Heartbroken family of murdered girl in plea to anonymous letter writer
...

Thank you dotr for creating this thread, and for posting that recent article, which I hadn't seen.

The podcast is really interesting, and it's how I found out about the case, although Marian's face seems very familiar, somehow.

The podcast details how the investigation is riddled with problems from the start - the officer who questioned Marian's best friend was dancing with that same best friend the night before, and about 50 items of physical evidence have been lost / misplaced / destroyed. There is a likely suspect, but evidence is lacking. I hope that they do find answers for Marian's family.

 

[AcbMurders]

Brother of murder victim Marian Beattie speaks of shock as case is passed to PSNI legacy branch

A very good doc on UK bbc iPlayer

 

[CastlesBurning]

Family of murdered Portadown teenager worried killer may have struck again

Family of "sadistically" murdered teenager say killer "still walks amongst us"

 

[dotr]

Murder in the Badlands: release date on Netflix, trailer and the four true crime cases covered

Murder in the Badlands features the stories of Lisa Dorrian, Arlene Arkinson, Inga Maria Hauser and Marian Beattie

uk.news.yahoo.com

Sarah McCann 9 October 2023
''Murder in the Badlands is the latest true crime series to come to Netflix. Set in Northern Ireland it examines the unsolved murders of four women across four decades.''

''Episode 4 - The murder of Marian Beattie
Marian Beattie was just 18-years-old when she was murdered in March 1973. Her remains were found in a quarry close to a dance hall where she was last seen leaving with a man. Her case remains unsolved.''

 

[dotr]

Could the perp be on the' spectrum', imo, speculation.rbbm

Family of "sadistically" murdered teenager say killer "still walks amongst us"

Monument to be unveiled at quarry where teenager was found

www.belfastlive.co.uk

''The teenager, from Portadown, Co Armagh, was found with a pile of burnt matches next to her body and buttons from her blouse neatly stacked next to her. She had been at a barn dance nearby and was last seen with a man with long blond hair.''

''The family says they understand that the man was discounted on the basis of tax records indicating he was working in England at the time of Marian’s murder.

The family, however, believe this does not discount the possibility that he could have travelled to Northern Ireland for a short period at the time of Marian’s death.''

''Another issue that the family have raised is that when Marian’s family went to the police station in Aughnacloy a plain-clothed policeman walked behind the counter, but was recognised by Marian’s friend as a man who had been at the concert earlier and had asked her to dance.''

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Isadore recalled: “We drove straight to the quarry and the strange thing about it is that when we pulled up to the quarry, we just drove straight to where she was within 50ft, 60ft. . . I could see her lying on the bottom of the quarry.

“My first reaction was to run down and get her and the two policemen said, ‘No don’t, we cannot allow you to go there and get her.’”

Brother recalls finding murdered sister in quarry & blasts 52-yr justice fight

A MAN whose sister’s murder remains unsolved 50 years after her death has blasted their wait for justice. Marian Beattie was on a night out at a charity dance with her best friend, Nuala Wilson, an…

www.thesun.ie

 

[Seanmaccadave]

Two ex-police officers among suspects in NI teen’s unsolved murder as report finds ‘systematic failings’ in probe

The PSNI has been urged to commission an independent review of the murder of a teenager in Co Tyrone more than half a century ago.

m.belfasttelegraph.co.uk

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Marian Beattie was found at the bottom of a Co Tyrone quarry more than 50 years ago

Darragh Mackin, of Phoenix Law, who represents the Beattie family, said “the facts of this investigation speak for themselves”.

“The suspects in Marian’s murder were hiding in plain sight.

“Today’s revelations confirm that three suspects had paramilitary links and two were former police officers.

“The family have always believed that such connections have played a direct role in the obfuscation and procrasintation adopted, in failing to investigate Marian’s murder.”

Police Ombudsman chief executive Hugh Hume said the investigation “has found significant errors and omissions during the police enquiries into Marian’s murder”.

Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton said police “will now take time to consider the recommendations of the Police Ombudsman report and we hope the family will engage with the Police Service as part of that process”.

RUC had ‘little doubt’ loyalist suspect killed Catholic teenager Marian Beattie

Person B convicted sexual assault year after teen murdered

www.irishnews.com

 

[dotr]

June 2025

Marian Beattie: Watchdog finds 'numerous failings' in murder investigation

Marian Beattie, 18, from Portadown was last seen leaving a charity dance in Aughnacloy on 30 March 1973.

www.bbc.com

''Items were recovered, including articles of clothing and forensic samples. These were submitted for analysis to the forensic science laboratory and returned to the police on 18 January 1974.

There is no record of what happened to them after their return to police and all are now missing, the ombudsman said.

They include a palm print, formed in mud on the heel of Ms Beattie's right shoe, which became a significant focus for police. Although a photograph of the print does still exist, the shoe is missing.

During the initial investigation a large number of palm prints were obtained to compare against the print on Ms Beattie's shoe. No match was found.''

Feb 2025