The 22-year-old man charged in connection with the murder of a woman in Connemara last month has secured a High Court order allowing a UK pathologist to carry out a second post-mortem on the body of the victim.
Jakub Fidler was charged last month with assaulting 19-year-old Nicola Vonkova and causing her harm after her body was discovered in a drain near her workplace in Cartur Leathan, Inverin, on July 21. Last week he initiated a High Court judicial review after the local coroner, Dr Ciaran McLoughlin, refused to allow a UK pathologist retained by Mr Fidler to perform a post-mortem on the body of Ms Vonkova.
Mr Fidler’s lawyers were invited by gardaí to have an independent post-mortem, a right of accused parties in cases where pathology evidence is expected to be critical in the case, but when they could not secure an Irish pathologist in the Republic or in the North they sourced Dr Ian Calder from the UK. However, Garda Supt Noel Kelly told Mr Fidler solicitor Olivia Traynor that only a pathologist registered and recognised by the Irish Medical Council would be allowed carry out the post-mortem. The council told Ms Traynor it would take at least four weeks to have Dr Calder registered here and a request to the coroner to allow the UK doctor to carry out the post-mortem was refused. It was then that High Court action was taken and following talks between lawyers for Mr Fidler and Dr McLoughlin, Mr Justice O’Neill was made aware that the local coroner would not be opposing the order sought by the accused.
On Thursday Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O’Neill granted the injunction permitting the second post-mortem after Dr McLoughlin did not oppose the application. It was also noted that the refusal of the coroner to allow Dr Calder to perform the post-mortem his right to practise medicine on a temporary basis within the State as a member of the EU.
Ms Vonkova was found dead in a drain near the bungalow where she was working as a carer on July 21. She was subject to manual strangulation which is believed to have caused or contributed to her death.
