McGladdery had evil intent even before he left the dance hall. He knew where Pearl lived and the exact location of her home. He gambled that any lift she received would drop her ..
… at the junction of the Damolly and Upper Damolly Roads, some thirty yards from her home which would (even in daylight!) be out of view behind a low rise. He would wait in a gap in the hedge, out of view of any passing car.
He stole a bicycle from outside the Orange Hall and bicycled furiously to the Drumcashellone/Damolly area. He was in place when the young girl was dropped off.
It became obvious later that
Though sexual attraction may have been the initial spur, his violent nature took over and he determined to punish her for the rejection he had suffered. She was not raped.
Despite being struck violently about the face, it was obvious later, from the scratches suffered by McGladdery, that she had put up a brave struggle. She continued to fight him. Approximately 150 yards into the field, she lost the fight. Bloddied, flattened grass marked the spot where he beat the resistance from her.
He continued to drag her semi-conscious body through the field, all the time ripping the clothes from her body. The girl sustained a broken nose, severe bruising about the cheeks and face and cuts around her lips.
He had however, come armed for his attack. McGladdery operated a small shoe-repair business from his home. Files were a normal part of his tool kit. He had with him at least one file with a star-shaped end (or possibly ‘tang’ – the part that fits into the handle). In an excited frenzy he began stabbing the girl all over the body, but especially about the breasts, with this weapon. The wounds were two inches deep. She was stabbed too about the face, on the forehead and near the right ear. One body wound punctured the heart.
Still not content, he took a scarf and strangled the dying girl.
….. more of this murder to come …..