Missing Michaela found strangled in bushes -- coroner

Alan O'Keeffe

A SCHOOLGIRL whose body was found in undergrowth died from strangulation, an inquest has been told.

Twelve-year-old Michaela Davis died as a result of asphyxia due to strangulation, Dublin County Coroner's Court was informed.

A post mortem revealed that the girl had suffered compression of the neck.

The child's father, Brendan Davis, told the inquest in Tallaght that he identified her body to Garda Brendan O'Hora at Blanchardstown Hospital on August 29 last.

The visibly moved father was invited to take a drink of water as he gave his short statement.

Detective Inspector Colm Fox asked the coroner to adjourn the inquest as a criminal investigation into the matter was ongoing.

He confirmed that a person had been charged and that a book of evidence would be ready to be served next Tuesday.

Dr Geraghty said he was adjourning the case at the garda request, and would await the outcome of the investigation.

The young girl was a first year student at Luttrellstown Community College and had attended her first classes shortly before she went missing in the early hours of August 28.

She was reported missing shortly after 2am, about two hours after leaving her home in the Village development in the Blanchardstown area.

The partially clothed body was found shortly after 4pm in bushes on the banks of the Royal Canal.

A Dublin man, Jonathan Byrne (19), of Lohunda Downs, Clonsilla, has been charged with her murder.

He was charged on August 30, and has been remanded in custody since then.

aokeeffe@herald.ie