Jury hears of social worker's concern for Josephine Ray months before her death
Details from social workers and a three hour audio recording found on phone of the accused were heard by the jury as the murder trial of Mr Hasan Ali Gori continues
A Central Criminal Court sitting in Limerick has heard from two social workers who were involved with the care of Josephine “Josie” Ray after she fractured her hip in 2024.
Josephine Ray, 89, was found dead in her home at St Joseph’s Park, Nenagh on August 4, 2026. Hasan Ali Gori, 52, stands accused of Ms Ray’s murder and has pleaded not guilty.
Mr Ali Gori was residing at St Joseph’s Park at the time of the murder and was in a relationship with Ms Ray’s daughter, Mary Ray, who has an intellectual disability. It was noted before the jury that Mr Ali Gori and Mary Ray had met in Galway in 2014.
Giving evidence this Thursday, social worker, Sharleen Hegarty, described how she was allocated to Ms Ray’s case in mid April 2024. She noted how she had met Ms Ray a total of five times between April 25 and May 21, 2024.
The jury heard how concerns had been raised by Ms Ray’s grandson, Daniel O’Brien, who explained how his grandmother had fallen in her house and had not received any help for three days.
Upon meeting Ms Ray, Ms Hegarty described how she seemed “unwell” and “didn’t do much talking”. She also noted how Ms Ray would become “very anxious” when Mr Ali Gori was brought up and added: “That was a concern to me.”
The jury heard that Ms Ray temporarily moved into her daughter Sarah's home, also in St Joseph’s Park, after being discharged from hospital.
The social worker further noted how Ms Ray did not want to return to her home at 91 St Joseph’s Park until Mary’s partner had left the house. She mentioned how Ms Ray was “always worried about Mary”.
Ms Hegarty elaborated on how she contacted the council about the matter and asked about an Exclusion Order.
The social worker described how Ms Ray was “afraid that what Hasan would do to her daughter”, when the subject of moving into a nursing home was brought up.
The court heard how during the social worker’s final meeting with Ms Ray, in May, she said how “all of the fighting had stopped” in her house, and she would move back.
When cross-examined by Aidan Doyle SC, Ms Hegarty was asked about a note she made that described how Mary seemed to have “always had a hold over Josephine”.
When questioned on what she meant by this Ms Hegarty described how Ms Ray would always put Mary’s needs above her own.
Evidence was also heard, this Thursday, from Garda Eoin Sheehan, who specialises in cyber crime and the forensic retrieval of electronic data. The jury heard how the phones of Mr Ali Gori, Mary Ray, Josephine Ray and Mary’s son, Samuel were all examined as part of the investigation.
Garda Sheehan explained to the jury how he and his colleagues in An Garda Síochána use the software, Cellebrite, to extract data from certain applications for analysis. Garda Sheehan described it as a “very very invasive tool”.
When guided through his evidence by the prosecuting council, Garda Sheehan mentioned an audio file found on the phone of Mr Ali Gori.
The recording was approximately three hours in length beginning at 20:02 and ending at 23:34 on the evening of August 3, 2024.
Mr Doyle, on behalf of the defence, suggested it could have been an accidental recording, noting how phones were a constant cause of rows in the house.
Mr Doyle continued by saying: “I’m suggesting it was Mary Ray who pressed record.”
Garda Sheehan answered: “I can’t say”.
The trial continues before Mr Justice Seán Gillane.