The family of a woman who committed suicide after allegedly being sexually assaulted by a man who saw her in a church wants the PSNI to review her case.
It comes amid new claims that the man may have engaged in other “predatory behavior.”
Shauna Reilly, from Enniskillen, was 23 when she died by suicide in 2016. Seven weeks later, her sister Michelle, 33, who could not live without her, also committed suicide.
After seeing her at a church she didn’t normally attend, the man contacted her online.
He spoke of his faith and persuaded her to allow him to visit her home, but it is alleged that instead of praying, he dragged Shauna upstairs, attacked her and bruised her arms.
The man was arrested and questioned by police about the alleged assault, but initially denied it. When a forensic examination confirmed there had been “penetration”, he admitted to having sex with Shauna but insisted it was “consensual”, which her family denies.
Now the family’s lawyer has written to the PSNI asking for Shauna’s file to be reopened.
Barry O’Donnell, of KRW Law in Belfast, said he understood the man “may have been involved in similar predatory behavior towards other young women which was reported to the police”.
He added: “We respectfully request that the investigation and evidence be reviewed and that our client be updated accordingly.”
The mystery surrounding the circumstances of Shauna’s final months was uncovered by her mother Jacqueline when she found her daughter’s diary and cell phone.
Vulnerable and dependent on alcohol, Shauna turned to faith to help her.
On her phone were dozens of messages from the man, who described himself as a member of a church, offering to “help” her.
One message read: “Tell me you put your trust in the Lord…let me know if you want to pray sometime.”
In her journal, Shauna expressed her fear of not being believed, her fear of what she had been through, and her suicidal thoughts.
‘I can not talk. I search for words, but the words in my vocabulary are everywhere. It’s impossible. I think writing helps me. But it clearly hasn’t helped enough,” she wrote