Geoffrey Evans (12 June 1943 – 20 May 2012) and John Shaw (born 6 July 1945) were English serial killers who murdered two women in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in 1976. They planned to rape and kill one woman each week. Soon arrested, they became two of the longest-serving prisoners in Ireland.

Crimes in Britain

The British police had previously investigated the pair in connection with three rapes committed in England in 1974, prompting the men to leave the United Kingdom and travel to the Republic of Ireland, thus escaping British prosecution for the rape charges.

Crimes in Ireland

In Ireland they planned a series of murders and rapes, which they did by house theft. They were detained in

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

, charged with burglary and received a two-year prison sentence. After 18 months they were released. In August 1976, in

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

, they abducted and repeatedly raped and then murdered 23 year-old Elizabeth Plunkett from Ringsend in Dublin, following a night out in

Brittas Bay Brittas Bay () in County Wicklow, Ireland is a stretch of beach on the Irish Sea coast, about south of Wicklow. The beach and associated dunes are very popular with Dubliners and are one of the most frequented beaches by residents of the ca ...

. They disposed of her body by tying it to a lawnmower and dumping it in the Irish Sea off the Wicklow coast. Her remains were discovered on 28 September 1976 over 110km away on

Duncormick Duncormick or Duncormac () is a rural village and surrounding community located in County Wexford, Ireland. At the time of the 2016 census, the village of Duncormick had a population of 116 people. The village is south-west of Wexford town, cl ...

beach, Co Wexford. In September of that year, in

Castlebar Castlebar () is the county town of County Mayo, Ireland. Developing around a 13th-century castle of the de Barry family, from which the town got its name, the town now acts as a social and economic focal point for the surrounding hinterland. Wi ...

, they abducted 23-year-old Mary Duffy as she walked home from a late work shift as a cook. The pair drove her to a secluded area in

Connemara Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

and over a two day period repeatedly beat and raped her, before they murdered her. The pair then disposed of her body by tying a concrete block and a sledgehammer to it and dumping it in

Lough Inagh Lough Inagh () is a freshwater lake in the Inagh Valley, in Connemara, County Galway, in the west of Ireland. Geography Lough Inagh is located about east of Clifden on the R344 road in the Inagh Valley. The Twelve Bens range lies to the west ...

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

. On 26 September 1976, both were detained by the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...

(police).

Trials

Since each man blamed the other for both murders, the

Circuit Court Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...

judge ordered separate trials for each accused and victim, making four trials in all at the Central Criminal Court. First, in 1977, Shaw was tried for rape and murder of Duffy, and convicted on a retrial after the initial jury was hung. Then Evans was tried for both murders, after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) appealed the original order for separate trials per victim. Evans was found guilty of the rape and murder of Duffy and the rape of Plunkett, but the judge directed the jury to find him not guilty of murdering Plunkett. In 1979, the DPP entered a for the charges against Shaw in relation to Plunkett. A consequence not publicised at the time was that nobody was found guilty of murdering Plunkett.

Post conviction

Evans

In December 2008, Evans underwent heart surgery, suffered a stroke and fell into a coma. Until June 2010 he remained in hospital care with caution, and then was given temporary release when doctors said he was in a

vegetative state A vegetative state (VS) or post-coma unresponsiveness (PCU) is a disorder of consciousness in which patients with severe brain damage are in a state of partial arousal rather than true awareness. After four weeks in a vegetative state, the patie ...

. In April 2011 he was transferred to St. Mary's Hospital, Dublin. He died there on 20 May 2012 at the age of 71 or 72 (sources vary). According to the autopsy, the cause of death was sepsis caused by pneumonia.

Shaw

, Shaw is still imprisoned for his part in the murder of Mary Duffy, having been moved from

Arbour Hill Prison Arbour Hill Prison () is a prison located in the Arbour Hill area near Heuston Station in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. The prison is the national centre for male sex offenders. Adjacent to the prison are the Church of the Sacred Heart (Dubl ...

in Dublin to

Castlerea Prison Castlerea Prison () is a closed category, medium security prison in Castlerea, County Roscommon, Ireland. It houses men over 17 years of age. As of 2022, it had a bed capacity of 340 and the daily average number of resident inmates was 320. Hi ...

in Co Roscommon in 2022. Having served over 49 years he is currently the longest serving prisoner in Ireland.

Elizabeth Plunkett

In 2023, relatives of Elizabeth Plunkett were notified by the Irish Parole Board that Shaw was due for temporary day release. After further legal inquiries, the family subsequently discovered that they had no right to object to his release, because Shaw had not been convicted of any crime against her. They further discovered that no

inquest An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a cor ...

had been held or

death certificate A death certificate is either a legal document issued by a medical practitioner which states when a person died, or a document issued by a government civil registration office, that declares the date, location and cause of a person's death, a ...

issued for Elizabeth. In January 2025 a

District Court District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations, some call them "small case court" usually as the lowest level of the hierarchy. These courts generally work under a higher court which exercises control over the lower co ...

jury in

Gorey Gorey () is a market town in north County Wexford, Ireland. It is bypassed by the main N11 road (Ireland), M11 Dublin to Wexford road. The town is also connected to the Gorey railway station, railway network along the same route. Local newspape ...

returned a verdict of

unlawful killing In English law, Irish law and Northern Irish law, unlawful killing is a verdict that can be returned by an inquest in England and Wales and Ireland when someone has been killed by one or more unknown persons. The verdict means that the killin ...

, with

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death. The official may also investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

Dr Sean Nixon recording a cause of death as asphyxia due to strangulation. Her family called on

Drew Harris Jeremy Andrew Harris, (born 5 April 1965), is the current Commissioner of the Garda Síochána in the Republic of Ireland, having assumed office in September 2018. He previously served as Deputy Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern ...

, the

Garda Commissioner The Garda Commissioner () – officially known as the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána () – is the head of the Garda Síochána, the national police force of Ireland. The Garda Commissioner is appointed by the Government of Ireland (Cabine ...

, to reopen the murder investigation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Geoffrey 2012 deaths English rapists English murderers People convicted of murder by the Republic of Ireland 1940 births Suspected serial killers