Ireland Case No. 21014Murder · Co. Wicklow · 19 May 2018
Inquest returns unlawful killing verdict in Jastine Valdez murder, Enniskerry
Jastine Valdez, a 24-year-old Filipina accountancy student, was abducted and murdered close to her home in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, on 19 May 2018. Mark Hennessy, 40, was shot dead by a garda at Cherrywood Business Park after a 24-hour manhunt, and a blood-soaked note in his car led gardaí to Puck's Castle, where an army guard found her body in heavy gorse. An inquest at Dublin Coroner's Court returned a verdict of unlawful killing. In a 2023 interview, retired Det. Supt. Frank Keenaghan said he believed Hennessy was infatuated with Valdez, had rehearsed the abduction, and sexually assaulted her before the murder.
- Reported
- Arrested
- Charged
- In court
- Verdict
- Sentenced
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet
Key facts
consolidated from all reports- What happened
- Jastine Valdez, a 24-year-old Filipina accountancy student, was abducted and murdered close to her home in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, on 19 May 2018.
- Mark Hennessy, 40, was shot dead by a garda at Cherrywood Business Park after a 24-hour manhunt.
- A blood-soaked note found in Hennessy's Nissan Qashqai contained the words Puck's Castle, where an army guard later found Valdez's body in heavy gorse.
- Cause
- The cause of death was asphyxia through external pressure on the neck.
- Where
- The murder took place close to Valdez's home in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, and her body was found in heavy gorse in south County Dublin.
- When
- Valdez disappeared on Saturday, 19 May 2018, after being followed from Bray to Enniskerry on a bus.
- Investigation
- CCTV from the bus showed a Nissan Qashqai following and overtaking it from Bray to Enniskerry, and gardaí tracked every matching Qashqai in the Dublin and Wicklow areas.
- Retired Det. Supt. Frank Keenaghan said he believed Hennessy was infatuated with Valdez, had rehearsed the abduction, and sexually assaulted her before the murder.
- In court
- An inquest at Dublin Coroner's Court returned a verdict of unlawful killing.
- Other details
- The garda who shot Hennessy was later investigated and cleared by GSOC.
- Emergency workers begged the conscious Hennessy to tell them where Valdez was, but he did not respond.
38 statements extracted from the articles
- whatThe detective believes Mark Hennessy was infatuated with Jastine Valdez and had rehearsed the abduction beforehand. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatThe detective believes Hennessy had a sexual motive for the kidnapping before murdering Valdez. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatHennessy was at the centre of a manhunt lasting more than 24 hours. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatAfter being shot, Hennessy was conscious and receiving first aid, but gave no response when ambulance workers implored him to say where Jastine was. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatWhen the car was searched there was no sign of Jastine, who was an accountancy student. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatCCTV from the bus Jastine was taking home showed a car following and then overtaking it as it went from Bray to Enniskerry. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatGardai tracked every matching Qashqai in the Dublin and Wicklow areas after the abduction. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatHennessy became the main suspect after gardai were told at his home that neither he nor the car had been there since the previous night. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatA woman rang in to say she had seen the Qashqai in front of her, giving the lead that the car was in Cherrywood. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatA note Hennessy left in the car was covered in blood and had to be deciphered by forensics scientists. (dublinlive.ie)
- whatThe detective believes Hennessy had seen Jastine at the bus stop before and followed the bus for seven or eight miles. (dublinlive.ie)
- whereThe pursuit ended when Hennessy was cornered at Cherrywood Business Park. (dublinlive.ie)
- whereThe murder took place close to Jastine Valdez's home in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow. (irishmirror.ie)
- whereFormer detective Frank Keenaghan believed her body was dumped in heavy gorse in south County Dublin. (irishmirror.ie)
- whenJastine Valdez disappeared close to her home in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, on Saturday, May 19, 2018. (dublinlive.ie)
- whenJastine Valdez was murdered on 19 May 2018. (irishmirror.ie)
- causeThe cause of death was asphyxia through external pressure on the neck. (irishmirror.ie)
- investigationGardaí found a note in Hennessy's car containing the words 'Pucks Castle', where Jastine's remains were later found. (irishmirror.ie)
- investigationAn inquest at Dublin Coroner's Court returned a verdict of unlawful killing. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherKeenaghan believes Hennessy sexually assaulted Jastine before murdering her. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherKeenaghan believes Hennessy was infatuated with Jastine and had seen her before at a bus stop. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherKeenaghan believes Hennessy had followed Jastine once before the abduction as a rehearsal. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherMark Hennessy was 40 at the time of the murder. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherHennessy was cornered at Cherrywood Business Park in south Dublin after a 24-hour manhunt. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherA Garda detective shot Hennessy fearing he was stabbing Jastine as officers approached his Nissan Qashqai. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThere was no sign of Jastine in the vehicle after the shooting. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherCCTV from the bus Jastine was taking home showed a car following and overtaking it from Bray to Enniskerry. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe vehicle identified on CCTV was a Nissan Qashqai. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherHennessy's phone was pinged and at one stage he was located on Killiney beach. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherFriends or family of Hennessy met him and tried to talk him into giving himself up but he drove off. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherA note found in the car was blood-soaked and had to be deciphered by forensics scientists. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherAn army guard found Jastine's body in the gorse during the search. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherThe detective who shot Hennessy was later investigated and cleared by GSOC. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherEmergency workers begged the conscious Hennessy to tell them where Jastine was but he did not respond. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherJastine Valdez was 24 and Filipina. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherMark Hennessy is believed to have been infatuated with Jastine Valdez and to have rehearsed her abduction beforehand. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherMark Hennessy was shot dead by an armed garda in the Cherrywood Industrial estate. (irishmirror.ie)
- otherJastine Valdez's parents say they still live with the trauma of her murder. (irishmirror.ie)
The reporting
newest first- 19 May2023Parents of Jastine Valdez tell of ongoing grief on fifth anniversary of murder
Fifth-anniversary tribute in which the parents describe their ongoing grief, with background on the 2018 murder, the manhunt, the suspect's death and the inquest verdict.
victim, Jastine Valdez, female, non-irish (judged from name)Jastine Valdezsuspect, Mark Hennessy, male, named, irish (judged from name)Mark Hennessy - 9 Feb2023'Infatuated' monster who murdered Jastine Valdez did dry run before abduction
First public account from the detective who led the manhunt; reveals belief that Hennessy was infatuated with Valdez, had followed her before (a 'dry run'), and sexually assaulted her before murder; details of the 24-hour search, the shooting, the blood-soaked note, and the body's discovery by an army guard.
victim, Jastine Valdez, 24, female, Filipina, non-irishJastine Valdezsuspect, Mark Hennessy, 40, male, named, irish (judged from name)Mark Hennessy - 9 Feb2023Monster who snatched and murdered Jastine Valdez was 'infatuated with her'
First public interview by retired Det. Supt. Frank Keenaghan revealing new details: Hennessy was infatuated with Valdez, had rehearsed the abduction, likely sexually assaulted her, and a blood-covered note in his car directed gardaí to Puck's Castle.
victim, Jastine Valdez, 24, female, Filipina, non-irishJastine Valdezsuspect, Mark Hennessy, 40, male, named, irish (judged from name)Mark Hennessy