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Joe O’Reilly: Fresh Out of Jail | World’s Most Evil Killers

September 15, 2024 / 44:22

This episode discusses the murder of Rachel O'Reilly by her husband Joe O'Reilly in October 2004, the investigation that followed, and the subsequent trial.

Joe O'Reilly killed Rachel in a brutal attack, making it appear as a burglary gone wrong. He later appeared on television to appeal for information about her murder, which raised suspicions about his innocence.

Detectives uncovered evidence that pointed to Joe's guilt, including his alibi falling apart and blood found on his shoes. The investigation revealed his manipulative nature and his affair, which provided a motive for the murder.

The trial attracted significant public interest, with emotional testimonies from Rachel's family. Joe was ultimately found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.

The episode highlights the impact of Rachel's murder on her family and the ongoing threat Joe O'Reilly poses, as he continues to appeal his conviction.

TL;DR

Joe O'Reilly brutally murdered his wife Rachel, staged it as a burglary, and was later convicted after a lengthy investigation and trial.

Episode

44:22
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in October 2004 loving wife Rachel
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O'Reilly returned home after doing the
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school drop off less than 20 minutes
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later she was murdered by her own
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husband Joe Riley killed his wife in the
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most brutal possible manner he hit her
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across the head with a dumbbell several
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times inflicted on unbelievable injuries
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this was a cruel calculated model in a
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horrific attack made to look like a
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burglary gone wrong Joe O'Reilly killed
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the mother of his children terrible
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Legacy to leave those kids that's very
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Legacy for the rest of their lives
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mother was murdered and their father did
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Joe O'Reiley reveled in the attention he
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received as he paraded himself on TV he
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went on The Late Late Show with rose to
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make an appeal for whoever murdered his
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wife to come forward or for people to
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give
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information he really was enjoying it
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she knew the person because why else
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would you kill her he enjoyed the
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spotlight thank you very much as the
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whole of Ireland watched on Joe O'Reilly
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proved himself to be one of the world's
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most evil killers
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[Music]
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[Music]
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October 4th 2004 at around 5:20 a.m. Joe
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O'Reilly left his home in null in the
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north of County Dublin the married
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father of two went to the gym before
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heading to the outdoor advertising
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company he worked for in the west of
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Dublin City at 8:2 5 a.m. he left the
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office again and arranged to meet a
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colleague at a bus garage 5 miles away
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in central Dublin he said they had to do
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an inspection in Broadstone that day to
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examine the buses and the advertisements
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and he said he was there until 12:00 or
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wherever he came back to his workplace
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but O'Reilly never made it to the bus
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garage instead he traveled 25 mil North
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to his family home where his loving wife
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Rachel was unaware of what her husband
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had planned for
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her Joe O'Reilly was an arrogant over
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self-confident man with no
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respect for anyone except his own
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desires and the person who paid the
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price for that was his wife
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Rachel this killer Story begins in
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County Dublin Island Joe O'Reilly was
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born in April
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1972 one of four children O'Reilly
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didn't have the easiest of childhoods
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Joe grew up in a Troublesome household
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his father was an alcoholic and a robust
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type of character and violent Joe would
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have been subject to a lot of drunken
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abuse by his father he had one other
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brother and he had two sisters one of
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them was very mentally handicapped and
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physically handicapped and joah told me
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himself my father come in and I could
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hear him shouting downstairs where's the
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monster where's the monster referring to
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my handicapped sister and he come up I'm
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going to kill that I'm going to kill it
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I'm going to kill it now you know
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according to O'Reilly himself he was the
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doting Big Brother protecting his baby
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sister from being harmed he said I'd
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have to hop up out a bed grab the baby
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out of the car and hide her under the
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bed with me and he come in and he roared
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and shouting and then he be got he says
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that's what I had to put up with so I
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would sympathize for Joan that you know
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no one wants to see that type but he did
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have a Troublesome childhood it wasn't a
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comfortable upbringing it
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was complicated and he did feel
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responsible for his siblings but there
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was also an hint of arrogance in that
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childhood as an adult Joe O'Reilly was a
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hard character to read with those around
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him not knowing too much about him Joe
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he was always very very aloof I don't
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think any of us ever had a a
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real understanding of him he never got
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too close to any of us
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um never stand offish it's just it just
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never would have got to know him he just
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seemed Shy Guy like
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in 1991 O'Reilly was working in retail
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in the center of Dublin City and this is
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where he met 17-year-old Rachel Kali
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Rachel and Joe met at a large department
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store in Dublin he fancied her early on
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and he he made several attempts to ask
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her out but she wasn't willing at the
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time but he he kept trying and she
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eventually did go out room you know he
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takes her to Paris and proposes on the
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top of the Eiffel
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Tower now I think that tells you an
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awful lot about O'Reilly's vision of
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himself and what he wanted he wanted to
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put her on the back foot he should be
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the great I am and I think that that's
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the tone the background music that goes
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through the entire
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relationship from the outside Rachel and
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Joe O'Reilly appeared to have the
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perfect life they soon got married and
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moved to the countryside in null County
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Dublin Rachel seemed to be living the
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life of her dreams her brother Paul
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remembers it being a joyous time in
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Rachel's life she loved the the country
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living the country schools the she liked
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walking the lane talking to neighbors
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and stuff was a fine house and they just
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seemed very happy out there
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to us they had the perfect
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marriage they were committed in many
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ways but and here comes one of the
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telling elements in this tragic
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story he was an arch
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manipulator he was one of those men who
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turned off his affections and on at a
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whim always putting the woman in his
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life on the back foot it's very familiar
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among arrogant manipulative men now did
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that come from his childhood did it come
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from the way he saw his mother treated
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by his violent alcoholic father possibly
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but certainly there's no doubt in my
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mind that he was pretty misogynist in
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his
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mind there was no doubt that Joe
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O'Reilly had little regard for women but
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nobody could have predicted how his
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marriage to Rachel would turn out
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for Rachel the 4th of October started
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out like any other day Joe had gone to
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the gym 6:00 a.m. is and she' got up fed
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and water the kids and dropped them off
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to their play school in school and she
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just came home
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then around 1:30 p.m. Joe called
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Rachel's family he told them Rachel
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hadn't collected their youngest son from
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the CEST
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it would have been very very very odd
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for Rachel not to her whole life was
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based around the kids their
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activities the thing everybody says
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about Rachel she was a dedicated mother
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her main goal in life was to look after
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her children and she did that to the
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best of ability she was a really caring
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mother when she became a mother that was
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her her big achievement in life although
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she loved every other part of life I
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think her two kids were the
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the sort of Pinnacle of her life so it
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was very strange when we got that phone
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call that she had missed one of the
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children upon receiving the phone call
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from Joe O'Reilly Rachel's mom Rose knew
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something wasn't right and headed
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straight to the house to look for Rachel
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what she discovered was horrifying the
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back door was open the curtains were
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drawn and she said that was very unusual
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that they never do that and she went
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into the house and she could see the tap
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was running and the drawers were pulled
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out and she could things see things
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scattered around and she was shouting
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for Rachel and Rachel and she made her
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way down to the down to the bedroom
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where she would think she would be and
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yes Rachel was
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there O'Reilly had encouraged Rachel's
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mother to go to the the house for Rose
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the devastating scene was one that no
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parent should ever have to see she
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couldn't even tell if Rachel was lying
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face down on the floor or face up
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because of the injuries inflicted on her
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there was so much blood and her hair was
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matted and she couldn't tell but she
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knew she was
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dead it wasn't long after them he mother
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rang and
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um we knew it was
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it was a big
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problem she didn't make a whole lot of
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sense all she kept saying was she's
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[Music]
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dead Detective Pat marry was on duty
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When A call came through of a violent
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incident in null as I made my way there
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there was messages conflicting messages
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coming over the radio oh that lady has
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been very badly hurt uh yeah it looked
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looks like a burgy gone wrong then
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someone says yeah no that lady I think
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is dead like you know and I said my good
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God news spread fast that something big
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had happened and journalist Pat Flanigan
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made his way to the scene when the crime
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was committed the initial uh thoughts
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were that was a burglary the house had
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been ransacked drawers pulled out was
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closed all over the
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floor Detective Pat marry entered the
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crime scene and what he discovered
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horrified even this seasoned police
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officer Rachel O'Reilly had been
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barbarically killed it was really Savage
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assault and that was shocking to me and
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I've seen a lot of dead bodies and a lot
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of ladies who have been murdered by
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their husbands and in situations like
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that but this was really horrific the
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degree of savagery that was used to kill
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her whoever done this to this woman
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hated
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her who ever did this had gone to Great
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Lengths to cover their tracks and Stage
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a fake
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burglary I've been had thousands of
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burgies and I know her a burglar and I
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know when there's one a real one and not
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a real one and this was not a real
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burglar a mother of two had been
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murdered in her own home in broad
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daylight on the surface the crime scene
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looked like a burglary gone wrong with
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tragic
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consequences but to the trained eye
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there was something else at
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play I know burglar I know how they
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behave I know what to do they don't want
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confrontation the first thing a burglar
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will do he get into a house he go to the
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bedroom he go to the woman's side of the
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bed he look for all the jewelry he'll
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separate the the uh costume jewelry take
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the good stuff put in the pillowcase
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gone we discovered also that there was
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two lots of money in the house as well
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which but now it was never taken like
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you know so we knew that it wasn't a
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burglary we just said like there's
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something that right here like you know
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Rachel has been severely attacked
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violently blooding two skull fractures
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many other bruises across her body this
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is not just bang on the head and run out
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the door if it's a burglar who's
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frightened it's going to be one hit and
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away this is not that this is an attack
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which indicates rage and indicates to
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premeditation the body was removed for a
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postmortem at lunchtime forensic
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examination of the house is expected to
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last a couple of days while the Cali
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family were hysterical with grief at
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finding Rachel Jo o Riley seemed quite
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the opposite it wasn't a grieving
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husband he was just looking he was
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taking in stuff he didn't act like a guy
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who had just found his wife battered to
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death and on the
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floor Joe was standing out in the road
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in his own he never engaged with the
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Cali family or went up to the ambulance
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to you know see what happened or talk
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about the situation or give each other
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hugs or he was just standing there like
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a cabbo cut out standing on the road
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there like you know and that was
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it while the public still suspected a
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burglary Pat Mar was looking at a
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different line of inquiry later that day
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he paid Joe O'Reilly a
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visit we were wondering like what was
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the story with Joe like he gives an
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account of his day he said yeah I got up
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at 5:00 in the morning he says O'Reilly
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told the detective that he'd left the
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house at 6:00 a.m. to head to a nearby
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gym he was to meet a a friend a work
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colleague there they both chatted uh
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they showered and then went away is this
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of course you know was to provide Joe in
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Alibi O'Reilly who worked in advertising
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claimed he'd then gone to a bus depot to
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inspect some adverts and to meet another
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colleague there he said he was there
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until 12:00 or wherever he came back to
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his workplace this Alibi provided Joe
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O'Reilly with the perfect cover if true
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he couldn't have been responsible for
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the murder of his wife maybe uh I says
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Rachel was having an affair and was some
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woman got someone to give her a hide and
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to tear her the back no no no he says
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neither of us were having Affairs and I
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just looked straight into his eyes and I
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was about 2 foot away from him I said
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Joe did you have an affair he says well
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I did have an affair but it's all over
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now he admitted that he had an affair
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with a woman but he claimed it was over
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and had been and himself and his wife
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had SED wrote on the no back to be a
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happy family I'd have been far more
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surprised if he wasn't having an affair
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given his personality and the way that
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he liked to absolutely dominate
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everything he would love an audience he
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would love fans and that's how he would
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see Affairs
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really even after the murder Joe
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O'Reilly maintained the facade of being
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the loving husband regularly visiting
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The Grieving Kali family at their home
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every couple of days he drop in and
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stuff me m used to make him dinners and
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all but that didn't last very long
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anytime he was in the house he was very
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calculated very cautious didn't say a
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lot just listened a lot he just wanted
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to know information all the
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time Rachel was buried one week after
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her murder on the 11th of October 2004
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Joe basically just washed his hands at
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the funeral he he didn't want really
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Anton to do it he didn't even want to
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pay for his wife's
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funeral the funeral was an opportunity
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for the Kali family to pay their last
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respects to their beloved Rachel the CES
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were writing cards to put in the coffin
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saying their last good boes and Joe was
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in the house with them to give him a
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card and stuff and he wrote what he
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wrote
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and put it in the coffin now she was
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buried with these carrots it wasn't just
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the family who were in mourning
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wellwishers spread far and wide the
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murder had sent shock waves through
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Ireland and there was a huge public
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interest in the case I covered the
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funeral for the Daily Mirror at the time
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and was quite a big funeral and very sad
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that that the calile family were in
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tears but Joe was uh seemed to be
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removed from it you know as if it didn't
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affect
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him I suppose the day the funeral like
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obviously it was very emotional day but
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I think that's when he started going
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into his kind of shiz mode it's he
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really when he got up and did his eulogy
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he was like it was like an Oscar speech
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up there you know um like it was really
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all about him you know and and he seemed
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to love the attention and that was
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noticeable
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Even in our grief Joe O'Reilly was quite
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a dominant and controlling person and
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felt a kind of ownership over his wife
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and over his children he certainly
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represented himself as a family man it
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didn't really follow that up with the
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way he behaved in his relationship it
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was more like well this is what I want
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people to see me as rather than this is
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what I really am Detective Pat marry
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attended the funeral and had become
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close to the Kali family over the course
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of the
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investigation their observations of
00:18:36
O'Reilly and the leadup to the funeral
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had been playing on their minds I was
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down in their house and we were talking
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about things and they said oh yeah and
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Joe was here sure you didn't care about
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Rachel and we had to tell him to write
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that note like you know and the
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detective that was with me detector
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Peter mcai the two of us looked around
00:18:54
at each other cuz we thought the same
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thing what did he write in the note you
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know you know and could it be a
00:19:00
confession there or anything like you
00:19:02
know with the Kali family's blessing
00:19:05
detectives made the difficult decision
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to exume Rachel's body they were certain
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that O'Reilly's note inside her coffin
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could be the key to unlock the case
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there was a five-page letter in it he
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said it's the hardest letter I've ever
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had to write in my life he asked for
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forgiveness and he said it'll haunt me
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for the rest of my life and uh I hope he
00:19:27
forgive me Rachel it's it's further
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evidence that Joe
00:19:32
O'Reilly Is Not Innocent of the crime of
00:19:36
murdering his wife but at this point
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there still isn't enough firm
00:19:43
evidence he was saying sorry for what he
00:19:45
had done and it's only him and she knew
00:19:47
about it uh but yet again it could be
00:19:50
anything else it was ambiguous and we
00:19:53
couldn't use it as you know strong
00:19:56
evidence more was needed to prove Joe
00:19:59
O'Reilly had committed the
00:20:03
crime as the investigation continued the
00:20:06
killer put on a horrifying performance
00:20:09
for Rachel's grieving family I know he
00:20:13
was given the house back after a week we
00:20:15
went out with him that day to help him
00:20:17
clean up the house and he had us listen
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to phone messages for 20 minutes he made
00:20:24
20 different calls to her saying are you
00:20:27
dare I love you a concerned husband this
00:20:30
is not the behavior of a man with much
00:20:33
in the way of empathy it's the behavior
00:20:36
of a man who seeking to cover his
00:20:38
tracks O'Reilly then took the family to
00:20:41
the spot where his wife was murdered and
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proceeded to act out how he thought the
00:20:47
killer might have ended Rachel's life he
00:20:50
knelt over where the body would have
00:20:51
been and reenacted how he would have
00:20:54
blud her whatever he buding her with he
00:20:57
then even Ste kept over an imaginary
00:20:59
body you know that wasn't there he also
00:21:03
went to the uh to the bathroom and said
00:21:06
explained how the the killer might have
00:21:08
washed his hands and heard her gurgling
00:21:11
and then went back to finish her
00:21:13
off Mary Cassidy who on the postmortem
00:21:17
and had viewed the
00:21:19
injuries had said to us in her report
00:21:22
and I confirmed it again with her what
00:21:24
Joe had enacted is exactly what she
00:21:28
believed the murderer would have
00:21:30
done based on the injuries of the head
00:21:33
and the body was laying it and all that
00:21:35
so here's Joe reenacted exactly what he
00:21:38
did like it was spooky not surprisingly
00:21:42
Jim and Rose are I mean literally
00:21:45
horrified how could they not have been
00:21:48
they are in the presence of someone
00:21:51
who's enacting out a murder and he's
00:21:53
only been dead a week or so for the Kali
00:21:57
family the disturbing truth about Jo o
00:22:00
royy was starting to become clear my
00:22:03
father was a little bit hesitant to to
00:22:06
jump to this conclusion but the other
00:22:08
three of us just
00:22:10
said he's just admitted
00:22:13
it we knew in our own hearts that he had
00:22:17
murdered Rachel and we just had to play
00:22:20
the waiting game then and hope to God
00:22:22
the the police could get him could catch
00:22:26
him
00:22:30
after putting on a sickening display for
00:22:32
Rachel's family O'Reilly was going to
00:22:35
take his supposed grief to a national
00:22:38
level for his next performance the
00:22:40
cameras would be rolling why go to the
00:22:43
extreme of murdering the person unless
00:22:45
they can identify him while the eyes of
00:22:48
the nation watched on Twisted Joe
00:22:51
O'Reilly was loving the
00:22:55
attention usually when someone is
00:22:57
grieving that gri they don't want
00:22:59
Limelight they don't want you know they
00:23:01
want to be left alone to grieve and
00:23:03
peace like you know members of the press
00:23:06
you know said to himself this guy is too
00:23:08
open because he was willing you know he
00:23:11
was over willing to to give his side of
00:23:13
the story gradually the tide torned and
00:23:16
you know suspicion torn on Joe just over
00:23:20
two weeks after O'Reilly murdered his
00:23:22
wife he made an appearance on one of
00:23:24
Ireland's leading chat shows with
00:23:27
Rachel's mom Kali murder happened was in
00:23:31
the bedroom which is the very last room
00:23:33
of the house so it's the room where
00:23:35
you're least likely to bring someone you
00:23:37
don't know because you're cornered he
00:23:39
went on The Late Late Show as a guest
00:23:42
with rose to make an appeal for whoever
00:23:44
murdered his wife to come forward or for
00:23:46
people to give information Rose is
00:23:49
clearly deeply upset and still grieving
00:23:52
for her daughter O'Reilly by contrast
00:23:55
seems incredibly relaxed
00:23:58
M was very uncomfortable with the whole
00:24:01
setup sitting beside him and to us was
00:24:04
very obvious at that stage that he
00:24:08
really was enjoying it like he really he
00:24:11
enjoyed the spotlight he was controlling
00:24:14
the narrative from the beginning he
00:24:17
would not have been thinking I feel
00:24:21
ashamed or I feel guilty about this he
00:24:25
would have been totally confident I can
00:24:27
tell everybody I didn't do this and they
00:24:29
will all believe me the bigger platform
00:24:32
I have to say that the more people will
00:24:35
believe me my view as well would be and
00:24:38
again it's just my view it's not a
00:24:39
police Theory it's it's just my own
00:24:40
personal belief is that she knew the
00:24:42
person because why else would you kill
00:24:44
her if it's a a violent robbery why go
00:24:47
to the extreme of murdering the person
00:24:49
if O'Reilly was hoping to put detectives
00:24:52
off the scent his Antics instead had the
00:24:55
opposite effect I can tell you now that
00:24:58
interview with Pat Kenny that night Joey
00:25:01
was suspect number one to everyone in
00:25:04
the
00:25:06
country but it was O'Reilly's Behavior
00:25:09
behind the camera that led to one of the
00:25:12
biggest breakthroughs in the case as he
00:25:14
spent a lot of time on his phone we
00:25:18
discovered the person he was on on the
00:25:19
phone was his lover and he went and met
00:25:23
her after the show and he spent a night
00:25:24
with her you know
00:25:26
after trying to be on a show to appeal
00:25:28
for information respect to the death of
00:25:31
his wife O'Reilly had told Detective Pat
00:25:34
Mary that the affair was over but it was
00:25:37
just another lie in the Killer's story
00:25:41
we had arrested the girl he was having
00:25:42
the affair with and she was in and she
00:25:45
was
00:25:46
questioned she said that they were
00:25:49
having an affair and it was a fullon
00:25:51
affair and that wasn't over having an
00:25:55
affair it's a motive
00:25:58
and was quite happy that we could
00:26:00
establish that motive so we have a man
00:26:04
who has if you like established for
00:26:06
himself the kind of perfect marriage two
00:26:10
children nice house in the countryside
00:26:12
outside Dublin good job progressing up
00:26:16
the ladder on the surfice everything is
00:26:19
fine he's got a new Lover he wants to
00:26:22
start a new life with her he wants to
00:26:25
make sure that he gets custody of his
00:26:27
children and so Rachel without knowing
00:26:31
is watching her husband plan what he
00:26:35
believes is the perfect murder the
00:26:38
murder of his
00:26:39
wife O's colleague who had provided him
00:26:43
with an alibi was arrested and
00:26:46
interrogated again about the mourning of
00:26:49
the
00:26:50
murder he was questioned at lint and he
00:26:54
eventually admitted look
00:26:58
I think I seen Joe at that stage but
00:27:00
what you're telling me I must have been
00:27:02
mistaken the colleague said he never
00:27:04
seen him at the bus garage where it was
00:27:06
supposed to
00:27:07
be Joe O'Reilly's Alibi had evaporated
00:27:12
he hadn't been at the bus depot that
00:27:14
morning the challenge now was to prove
00:27:17
he was at the murder scene instead an
00:27:20
examination of shoes O'Reilly had been
00:27:23
wearing that day led to a
00:27:26
breakthrough the Fric examin them and
00:27:30
they found dots of Blood on the inside
00:27:33
of the shoe on not along the side of the
00:27:37
shoe the drips came from above and down
00:27:41
which would have been synonymous with
00:27:42
him at the time he was standing over
00:27:45
Rachel or at the time he was killing her
00:27:47
with the weapon so we believed at that
00:27:50
stage that we had enough to arrest him
00:27:53
on suspicion of the murder of his wife
00:27:56
and which we did all the 17th of
00:27:59
November 2004 over a month after the
00:28:03
murder Joe O'Reilly was arrested and
00:28:06
taken in for questioning the arrest came
00:28:08
with something as a shock to the public
00:28:11
we questioned him and he didn't
00:28:13
cooperate he had no comment and we put
00:28:16
it about the shoes and that he had no
00:28:18
comment we put about the phone record
00:28:21
and him talking he I don't know I don't
00:28:23
get any recollection or he didn't no
00:28:26
comment to make you know so we didn't
00:28:28
have enough to charge him without a
00:28:30
confession the case against Joe O'Reilly
00:28:33
still wasn't strong enough the director
00:28:36
of public prosecutions told detectives
00:28:38
they didn't have enough to take O'Reilly
00:28:41
to trial we represented what we had to
00:28:43
the DPP and the DPP says no you're just
00:28:46
falling
00:28:48
short I thought we had enough they were
00:28:51
just a little
00:28:52
cautious O'Reilly was released without
00:28:55
charge with no new developments to rep
00:28:58
reports on public interest in the case
00:29:01
started to
00:29:04
dwindle there was a kind of dropped off
00:29:07
Sly dropped off the front pages and Joe
00:29:09
O'Reilly felt fairly secure that he had
00:29:11
got away with the perfect murder he
00:29:13
taught he was going to be a free man the
00:29:16
police carried on working quietly in the
00:29:18
background to try and prove once and for
00:29:21
all that oy was responsible for the
00:29:23
vicious murder of his wife Rachel as
00:29:27
detectives began to investigate they
00:29:29
found uh emails that that went between
00:29:32
Joe and his sister and they were very
00:29:35
very uh derogatory towards Rachel he
00:29:38
said the marriage was over Joe says I
00:29:41
can see it I'm going to be missed our
00:29:42
weekend Dad if we break up he wanted the
00:29:45
children he wanted her gone and that was
00:29:47
it and he knew the only way to get rid
00:29:49
of her was the Killer and he has to make
00:29:51
it look like a burglary he was quite
00:29:54
domineering and he did exactly what he
00:29:56
liked so I think it's fun far more
00:29:58
likely that his views on divorce were
00:30:01
you're not leaving me I will decide when
00:30:04
this marriage is over and that's exactly
00:30:07
what he did do detectives had to find
00:30:11
conclusive proof that O'Reilly had been
00:30:13
at the scene when Rachel was murdered
00:30:16
they scoured through hours of CCTV but
00:30:19
it was the cameras from the Quarry close
00:30:21
to the O'Reilly house that provided
00:30:24
valuable evidence we had Rachel she
00:30:27
drove her seen a car leaving her house
00:30:29
9:40 or something like that she was
00:30:32
coming back her car was coming back but
00:30:34
Joe O'Reilly himself drove a fat Maria
00:30:37
estate car and we had that car we
00:30:39
believed that car going up to the house
00:30:43
at 10 past 9 in the morning and it's
00:30:46
returning back at
00:30:49
9:59 so
00:30:51
between
00:30:53
945 and
00:30:56
959 that's when Rachel was murdered so
00:30:59
it sort of not ticked our box entirely
00:31:02
but it gave us reasonable suspicions to
00:31:04
believe it was Joe Riley's car you
00:31:07
know new technology was emerging cell
00:31:11
site analysis shows which nearby
00:31:13
telephone masks a mobile phone has
00:31:16
connected to every time a call or text
00:31:19
is sent or received a telecom's company
00:31:22
helped detectives analyze O'Reilly's
00:31:25
phone data from the day of the murder
00:31:28
they produced for us a a
00:31:30
map to show where Joe Riley's phone was
00:31:34
pinging off what Mass when he received
00:31:37
text messages and phone calls that
00:31:40
morning the data showed that O'Reiley
00:31:42
had left work traveled through North
00:31:45
Dublin to the house where he brutally
00:31:47
murdered his wife this was the vital
00:31:50
evidence Detective Pat Mary
00:31:52
needed so we can establish without any
00:31:55
shadow of a doubt Jo Ry had his phone
00:31:58
that morning on his person and we could
00:32:02
show 100% through the cell site analysis
00:32:06
that Jo Riley was traveling out from the
00:32:08
city out to his home at the time his
00:32:11
wife was murdered but that wasn't the
00:32:13
only breakthrough on the 14th of March
00:32:17
2006 detectives were tipped off about a
00:32:20
conversation O'Reilly had with his lover
00:32:23
When Rachel was still alive Joe had also
00:32:26
told his lover that he would kill Rachel
00:32:31
but she didn't take him seriously she
00:32:33
just start with a figure of
00:32:35
speech had Joe O'Reilly actually
00:32:38
admitted what he was going to do to
00:32:40
Rachel prior to her murder we
00:32:44
arrested Joe's lover again and brought
00:32:47
her in and questioned her and she
00:32:48
admitted that Joe said he'd kill Rachel
00:32:50
if he got away with it but I don't I
00:32:52
didn't take him
00:32:53
seriously I didn't think he'd do
00:32:54
anything like you know this when he said
00:32:56
in flipping like it wasn't anything in
00:32:59
it like you know on the 18th of June
00:33:03
2007 Joe oy appeared in court charged
00:33:07
with the murder of his wife
00:33:10
Rachel for Detective Pat marry the trial
00:33:14
had been a long time
00:33:18
coming it was quite an intense
00:33:20
investigation and there was a good team
00:33:22
of detectives on it and everyone has the
00:33:24
same agenda to get the person who did
00:33:27
this
00:33:29
it had been almost 3 years since Rachel
00:33:31
had been killed and at times the Cali
00:33:34
family had almost given up hope of Joe
00:33:37
O'Reilly ever facing Justice we always
00:33:41
knew the hardest thing was to get him
00:33:43
into court it was three years later he
00:33:45
was still walking the streets still
00:33:48
living his life still happy out um so it
00:33:51
was a huge step to get him charged the
00:33:53
trial was the final chapter in a story
00:33:56
that had from day one attracted intense
00:33:59
public interest journalist Pat Flanigan
00:34:02
covered the trial at the central
00:34:04
Criminal Court in Dublin there were cues
00:34:06
down the street for the public to get in
00:34:08
in fact I was there that morning and I
00:34:10
had difficulty getting through the
00:34:11
crowds to get into the courthouse I
00:34:13
think a lot of people thought he were
00:34:14
going to get off because of course they
00:34:16
didn't know how watertight the uh the
00:34:19
police case was against
00:34:21
them while the facts of his actions were
00:34:24
laid bare in court O'Reilly showed
00:34:27
little
00:34:29
emotion during the trial um Joe he
00:34:32
seemed very relaxed in fact he you know
00:34:34
he was looking around the court he
00:34:36
didn't seem particularly worried you
00:34:38
know at the time he had the demeanor of
00:34:40
a man who felt he was beyond the reach
00:34:43
of the
00:34:44
law the trial was especially difficult
00:34:47
for the Kali family as painful details
00:34:50
of Rachel's murder were
00:34:53
revealed as the postmortem results were
00:34:56
discussed the n ales were reminded of
00:34:59
the weeks following the murder when Joe
00:35:02
O'Reilly acted out how the murderer
00:35:04
would have likely killed Rachel you
00:35:07
might say you saw the body and know like
00:35:09
when you hear and I know he reenacted it
00:35:12
and all but it was only when we were
00:35:15
told exactly what happened that we knew
00:35:18
his reenactments are actually real but
00:35:21
um it's it's barbaric what he did it's
00:35:24
horrific so he got great joy out of doed
00:35:27
them
00:35:28
he used more violence than was necessary
00:35:31
to kill his wife there was rage in that
00:35:35
there was resentment in that but it was
00:35:37
also cold
00:35:40
blooded planned execution of his
00:35:45
wife you are in my way and I'm going to
00:35:49
get rid of you that says so much about
00:35:52
the type of person that he is
00:36:00
on the 20th of July 2007 at the end of
00:36:04
the 4-we trial the jury went out to
00:36:07
deliberate despite the prosecution
00:36:09
painting a picture of a man who had
00:36:11
reason to kill his wife there was still
00:36:14
doubt as to whether O'Reilly would be
00:36:16
punished for his
00:36:19
actions there has to be concern because
00:36:21
it's it's I think there was 11 jurors in
00:36:24
the end and it only takes a couple of
00:36:26
them and you're you're in trouble I had
00:36:30
gone over to a local pub with the guards
00:36:33
and we were chatting none of them were
00:36:36
confident you know they were all just
00:36:38
you just never know a jury so that kind
00:36:42
of diminished me a
00:36:45
littleit Detective Pat marry waited
00:36:48
anxiously with the Kali family after
00:36:51
less than 24 hours of deliberation on
00:36:55
Saturday the 21st of July
00:36:58
2007 the jury had made their decision I
00:37:02
remember being with the family we went
00:37:04
down to the pub and we were having an
00:37:05
appointed Guinness and I remember I just
00:37:07
had one called and it was sitting in
00:37:09
front of me and next people come in the
00:37:10
jury are coming back the jury are coming
00:37:13
back back in the courtroom the jury
00:37:16
delivered their verdict a unanimous
00:37:19
guilty Joe O'Reilly was finally
00:37:22
convicted for the murder of his wife
00:37:25
Rachel the whole Court just erupted the
00:37:29
judge was banging his gravel on it and
00:37:31
there was no nobody was paying any
00:37:33
attention like you know it was
00:37:35
just it was a huge release of emotion
00:37:40
that Justice had been done like you know
00:37:42
and I think the whole country were
00:37:44
shouting and I was standing there and
00:37:47
Rose G him over to me to give me a big
00:37:48
hug and I started crying as well and I
00:37:51
cried I make no bones about it well
00:37:55
thankfully he was found guilty um
00:37:58
the only way I can describe it it's it's
00:38:01
like taking the air of a balloon it it
00:38:04
just you you nearly collapse and yet you
00:38:08
nearly jump touch the sky it's an
00:38:11
amazing
00:38:12
feeling it was just it was very
00:38:14
emotional you
00:38:16
know this supremely confident indeed you
00:38:20
might say arrogant man is finally cut
00:38:23
down to size by a jury of 12 of his
00:38:28
peers who see through his Supreme
00:38:33
confidence for what it is merely that a
00:38:36
pretense a pretense that oh he couldn't
00:38:39
possibly have killed it was an outsider
00:38:41
an intruder it's one of the most cold
00:38:43
blooded of killings it's possible to
00:38:46
imagine O'Reilly is nothing more than a
00:38:49
coldblooded calculated murderer Joe
00:38:53
O'Reilly was sentenced to life
00:38:55
imprisonment and was taken f first to
00:38:57
Dublin's Mount Joy prison before
00:39:00
transferring to Midland jail to serve
00:39:03
his
00:39:04
sentence life imprisonment in Ireland is
00:39:06
anything now between 18 and 23 years but
00:39:10
people do serve a lot longer than that
00:39:11
and I suspect Joe Riley will serve maybe
00:39:16
30 years hopefully never gets
00:39:19
out but being found guilty didn't stop
00:39:22
Joe O'Reilly from appealing his
00:39:24
conviction which he did in 2009
00:39:28
Joe riy was so confident that he would
00:39:30
win his appeal that he told inmates when
00:39:32
he was in prison that he' move back into
00:39:34
the house where he moured his wife as
00:39:36
soon as he was released and bring his
00:39:38
two children with him O'Reilly lost his
00:39:41
appeal and remains in
00:39:45
prison but for the Cali family the
00:39:49
nightmare continues he was found guilty
00:39:52
he did it seven years and every two
00:39:54
years after that he's applied for role
00:39:58
what we have to do as a family then is
00:40:00
every two years when they contact us we
00:40:02
have to write letters send the in way we
00:40:05
think he should stay in jail so you know
00:40:10
it just seems a bit unfair that we're
00:40:12
not actually the guilty party here and
00:40:14
yet we' have to kind of beg to keep him
00:40:16
in
00:40:17
jail for many people in Ireland Joe
00:40:20
O'Reilly remains a threat to
00:40:23
society I believe Joe Riley is a total
00:40:26
psychopath he is no empathy for anybody
00:40:31
when he could do that to his wife he
00:40:33
could do
00:40:34
anything he was evil evil to the core
00:40:38
and if he got out could he do it again
00:40:41
yes he could joy in my mind is an evil
00:40:44
person people like Jo O'Reilly don't
00:40:48
change this is who he is he killed
00:40:53
Rachel because of the way he is the way
00:40:56
he thinks his world to view his ego his
00:41:01
entitlement that's not going anywhere
00:41:04
there's a danger that he will behave in
00:41:06
exactly the same way in future
00:41:09
relationships as he did in his past
00:41:15
relationships Rachel lost her life at
00:41:17
the hands of the evil
00:41:20
O'Reilly but she was not the only victim
00:41:23
of this devastating crime
00:41:28
your biggest hope is like the the two
00:41:31
boys had lost their mother and you just
00:41:33
hope to God it wasn't the
00:41:36
father like if it was a burglary or
00:41:41
anything else I'm not saying it would be
00:41:43
any easier but at least they'd be left
00:41:46
with their dad um so I think once that
00:41:50
realization came in that he he like he
00:41:53
didn't just take our sister he took
00:41:55
their mother which
00:41:58
which to me like I think that's
00:42:02
barbaric no matter how much you hate
00:42:05
someone it's a terrible Legacy to leave
00:42:07
those kids you know that that's their
00:42:11
legacy for the rest of their lives the
00:42:13
mother was murdered and their father
00:42:15
[Music]
00:42:24
did who knows what she would have went
00:42:26
down for a ra had Endless Possibilities
00:42:30
like she she was such a doer such a
00:42:33
giver such a great mother great sister
00:42:37
great
00:42:38
daughter she could have done an in life
00:42:41
it's just a shame he he just he just cut
00:42:46
her dead like that
00:42:48
and you know all that possibility was
00:42:52
lost he destroyed her for the years
00:42:55
leading up to her death so
00:42:58
we are the hopei ratson
00:43:01
[Music]
00:43:06
prison Joe O'Reilly fell out of love
00:43:09
with his wife and wanted to move on with
00:43:12
his lover instead of getting a divorce
00:43:15
and fighting for custody he chose to end
00:43:18
the marriage in the most final of ways
00:43:21
by brutally murdering Rachel and
00:43:23
depriving his two children of their
00:43:25
mother or was a selfish man who would
00:43:29
stop at nothing to get what he wanted
00:43:31
and he will be remembered as one of the
00:43:34
world's most evil killers
00:43:43
[Music]

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Episode Highlights

  • The Brutal Murder of Rachel O'Reilly
    In October 2004, Rachel O'Reilly was brutally murdered by her husband, Joe O'Reilly, in a horrific attack disguised as a burglary gone wrong. 'Legacy for the rest of their lives.'
    “Legacy for the rest of their lives.”
    @ 00m 45s
    September 15, 2024
  • Joe O'Reilly's Disturbing Behavior
    After the murder, Joe O'Reilly appeared on television, seemingly enjoying the attention while making an appeal for information. 'He really was enjoying it.'
    “He really was enjoying it.”
    @ 01m 03s
    September 15, 2024
  • Detective's Realization
    Detective Pat Marry recognized the crime scene was staged to look like a burglary, indicating premeditation. 'This is not just bang on the head and run out the door.'
    “This is not just bang on the head and run out the door.”
    @ 12m 56s
    September 15, 2024
  • O'Reilly's Eulogy Performance
    During Rachel's funeral, Joe O'Reilly's eulogy was described as self-centered, likened to an Oscar speech. 'He was like it was an Oscar speech.'
    “He was like it was an Oscar speech.”
    @ 17m 46s
    September 15, 2024
  • Lack of Empathy
    Joe O'Reilly's actions after Rachel's murder raised suspicions about his true feelings. 'This is not the behavior of a man with much in the way of empathy.'
    “This is not the behavior of a man with much in the way of empathy.”
    @ 20m 30s
    September 15, 2024
  • Joe O'Reilly's Arrest
    Joe O'Reilly was arrested over a month after his wife's murder, shocking the public.
    “The arrest came with something as a shock to the public.”
    @ 28m 06s
    September 15, 2024
  • Trial and Verdict
    After a long investigation, Joe O'Reilly was finally convicted of murdering his wife Rachel.
    “The jury delivered their verdict: a unanimous guilty.”
    @ 37m 19s
    September 15, 2024

Episode Quotes

  • He really was enjoying it.
    Joe O’Reilly: Fresh Out of Jail | World’s Most Evil Killers
  • This is not just bang on the head and run out the door.
    Joe O’Reilly: Fresh Out of Jail | World’s Most Evil Killers
  • He was like it was an Oscar speech.
    Joe O’Reilly: Fresh Out of Jail | World’s Most Evil Killers
  • He was enjoying it like he really he enjoyed the spotlight.
    Joe O’Reilly: Fresh Out of Jail | World’s Most Evil Killers
  • It’s barbaric what he did; it’s horrific.
    Joe O’Reilly: Fresh Out of Jail | World’s Most Evil Killers
  • He killed Rachel because of the way he is; he is evil to the core.
    Joe O’Reilly: Fresh Out of Jail | World’s Most Evil Killers

Key Moments

  • Murder Discovery09:33
  • Suspicion Grows23:16
  • Public Appeal23:42
  • Murder Investigation29:27
  • Trial Begins33:03
  • Guilty Verdict37:19
  • Emotional Release37:42
  • Legacy of Violence42:05

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown

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