A 42-year-old man from Co Louth has been convicted in the Central Criminal Court of the murder of German tourist Bettina Poeschel in October 2001.
Michael Murphy, of Rathmullen Park, Drogheda, had already served a 12-year sentence for the manslaughter of another woman. Ms Poeschel was on the last day of a holiday in Ireland when she disappeared outside Drogheda.
Michael Murphy attacked her, raped her and is thought to have choked her to death. Her body was discovered in dense undergrowth a month later. It was badly decomposed, making it impossible to confirm an accurate cause of death
Bettina Poeschel was a journalist with a Munich newspaper. Her father and sister were in court today when the jury of five women and seven men returned a unanimous guilty verdict after over five hours of deliberation.
Michael Murphy was convicted in 1984 of the manslaughter of a 65-year-old widow Kitty Carroll. He also has convictions for armed robbery and for assault.
