The jury in Graham Dwyer’s murder trial has been told that Elaine O’Hara’s skull has never been found and it's still not known how she died.
Deputy State Pathologist Dr. Michael Curtis has been giving evidence on the second day of the Foxrock architect’s trial.
Ms. O’Hara’s remains were found by a dog walker in the Dublin Mountains on Sept 13th 2013.
The Deputy State Pathologist visited the site the following day.
This afternoon, Dr. Michael Curtis told the jury he observed a lot of animal activity in the area and only two thirds of her skeleton were recovered.
He said there was no evidence of an assault before she died and there were was no sign of a knife attack on her bones.
It’s still not clear how Elaine died but Dr. Curtis said a knife to the stomach could kill without damaging bone.
The childcare worker’s skull and bones from her forearms and hands have never been recovered.
Earlier Elaine O’Hara’s father has told the trial he innocently text her asking “are you alive?” the day after her death.
August 22nd 2012 was the last time Frank O’Hara saw his daughter Elaine alive.
She was his eldest child and would have described him as her best friend, he said.
She’d been discharged from a psychiatric hospital in Lucan earlier that day and they spent several hours together.
From the stand, Mr. O’Hara said they left some flowers at her mother’s grave before returning to his home in Killiney.
She went back to her apartment in Stepaside just after 4pm and left again an hour later.
When her father couldn’t get in touch with her the following day, he text her asking “are you alive?”
Elaine was reported missing on Aug 24th 2012 and her remains were found in the Dublin Mountains just over a year later.
Mr. O’Hara also told the court today that in 2008, Elaine told him she was seeing a married man from Foxrock who used to tie her up.
Graham Dwyer is accused of murdering the childcare worker to satisfy what the prosecution alleges was a deep seated desire to stab a woman to death.
The 42 year old married father of two denies the charge.
