The brother and sister of murder victim Marie Tierney have spoken of the family's ongoing anguish at the fact that their sister's killer has not been brought to justice.
Speaking on RTÉ's Prime Time, John Bourke and Breda Fay said the ongoing garda re-investigation into the 1984 case has given them great hope that the killer might be caught.
Marie Tierney, a 34-year-old mother-of-two, disappeared on the night of 21 October 1984. Her body was found in a ditch outside Kilkenny two months later, on 21 December. She had been strangled to death.
"To imagine your sister, that somebody would murder her. Take her life and then, that her body was dumped in a ditch. That somebody would do that. That person must pay for that," said Breda Fay.
The family were speaking on the day that Marie Tierney's body was exhumed two weeks ago.
Speaking about the fact that an exhumation of Marie's body was necessary as part of the ongoing murder investigation, John Bourke said it was a very tough day for the family.
"I hope it will bring it to a conclusion, to get justice for Marie."
Gardaí re-opened the case last year, and this year they evaluated a significant amount of evidence generated from fresh appeals, leading to the victim's recent exhumation.
The exhumation was deemed necessary in order to obtain a DNA profile of Marie to meet today's forensic standards, and also to try and glean more information about the circumstances of her murder.
A full garda team has been working on the case at Kilkenny Garda Station.
Marie's niece Deborah Ormond said what her aunt had suffered was horrific.
"To be put in a ditch in the thick of winter... She loved her nails and appearance and always maintained herself really well. It was horrific, a horrific ending."
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