Laura Marshall: inquest relating to Lurgan murder likely to last for six weeks
A coroner has told a preliminary hearing into the tragic murder of Lurgan woman Laura Marshall that the inquest may not be heard until January next year.
Laura Marshall, a 31-year-old dental nurse, was found dead in the bath at her apartment on Victoria Street, Lurgan and is believed to have been murdered sometime between March 31 and April 3, 2016.
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The PSNI said she suffered multiple injuries consistent with a serious assault. A man was charged with murder shortly after Ms Marshall's death, allegations he denied. Two years later the case against him was dropped after the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) decided to withdraw all charges.
A preliminary hearing ahead of the inquest into Ms Marshall’s death was held at Laganside Courts in Belfast on Wednesday.
A full inquest was scheduled for three weeks in September, however at Wednesday’s hearing, coroner Louisa Fee, having heard of the lengthy list of discovery still outstanding, said she believed the inquest could not take place until January at the earliest. She asked for six weeks to be set aside for that inquest due to the extensive scope of the papers and evidence. There will be another review in early September.
Some of the outstanding evidence includes PSNI papers and evidence including telecoms data and CCTV footage. The hearing heard that some of that footage is no longer compatible with modern Windows software.
The coroner insisted that the extension to January for the inquest is not a reason to ‘down tools’.
“Matters all need to be attended to in very good time for my team to decide the running order of the inquest scope and witnesses required to give evidence,” she said, asking that all evidence be submitted by Halloween.
In 2022, a £20,000 reward was offered by the Crimestoppers charity for information about the murder.
Detective Superintendent Eamonn Corrigan said: “It is coming up to the anniversary of Laura’s murder, a 31-year-old woman with her whole life ahead of her. She suffered an unimaginable death and my team are determined to bring her killer to justice.
“We are appealing for anyone who may have saw or heard any activity at Laura’s home in The Johnston Allen Building, 122 Victoria Street, Lurgan over 31 March-3 April 2016 to come forward to police or anonymously via Crimestoppers.
“Somebody out there has the missing piece to the puzzle that we need. If you watch the programme you will understand the devastation of the family and what Laura had to go through in her final hours.
“If you come forward, you will be doing so anonymously via Crimestoppers and there is a £20,000 reward for information that leads to a successful conviction.”
Laura Marshall’s family said: “Laura was a bubbly girl with a great sense of humour and a heart of gold, she had her whole life ahead of her.
"We as a family are appealing to the public, that if anyone knows anything surrounding the circumstances of Laura’s death, no matter how insignificant they may think the information is, to contact Crimestoppers. Laura deserves justice.”