Soaring Productions

😢 A mum's battle for answers following her daughter's death will be highlighted this week in an RTE documentary exploring the "inconsistencies" that have led three pathologists to reach different conclusions on how she died.

Kelly Lynch, from Lisnakea in Co Fermanagh, was discovered in the Ulster Canal in Monaghan on St Patrick's Day 2024.

Gardaí said they believe she fell from a bridge and that her death was not being treated as suspicious, with a state pathology report saying the 23-year-old drowned.

However, Kelly's mum Julieanne has always suspected foul play and two other pathologist reports have come to different conclusions on how she died.

The concerns regarding Kelly's death and the Garda investigation will be highlighted in a new documentary that will be shown on RTE this week, The Girl in the Water, alongside her parents' fight for answers.

Speaking to Belfast Live ahead of the documentary's release, Julieanne said she believes that if Gardaí had taken the investigation into Kelly's death seriously at the beginning, they would "have a fighting chance" in finding out what really happened to her.

She said: "Three pathologists have given three different conclusions to Kelly's death, which only raises more questions about what has happened.

"There also seems to be a belief that Kelly had been submerged in water, when that is not the case. The canal was disused, and it can be dry most of the year unless there is rainfall, and it's never more than a foot of water. Kelly was wet due to the rain the night before.

"But again, there's been no scientific measuring of the level of rainfall, how long Kelly was out in the elements, and the fact that her phone was in her hand and there were no signs of any kind of damage to it.

"There was no water found in her lungs or anything to suggest that she might have drowned. When people watch the documentary they will be able to see the canal and the reason why we cannot accept drowning as her cause of death, and the fact she was found on her back."

Julieanne continued: "A young, healthy 23-year-old woman does not die and succumb to 93 injuries in her death without there being a reasonable explanation."