Bonus: The Long Walk Home: The Abduction of Jastine Valdez
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In May 2018, a 24-year-old woman was making her way home from a bus stop in Enniskerry, Country Wicklow, when she was brazenly snatched from the street and bundled into a car. Authorities soon traced the vehicle to a 40-year-old man and initiated a manhunt to apprehend him. What followed was a tense stand-off with a desperate man, determined to hide his crime. This episode covers the case of Jastine Valdez.
The Bus Stop
Jastine Valdez ran through all of the things she had done that day, happy to have marked them off her list. She looked at her phone screen, and then out the window of the bus. She was approaching her stop in Enniskerry and stood up to ring the bell to indicate to the driver to stop. She thanked the driver, which is customary in Ireland, and disembarked the vehicle. Carrying her phone in one hand, and a plastic shopping bag in the other, she began walking home. It was a little after 6 pm. She didn’t notice the vehicle approach her from behind or stop. She couldn’t have known that the driver had been following her for some time, stalking her, even.
She noticed movement out of the corner of her eye that caused her to stop momentarily to see what it was. Without warning, a man jumped out of the vehicle and ambushed her. She struggled, dropping the items she had been holding. Within seconds, she was in the vehicle and being driven away. She desperately tried to escape, but the doors were locked. She could see her phone smashed on the concrete where she had dropped it. She had no way to call for help. Just then, she locked eyes with a woman passing in another vehicle. She began to scream and bang on the window. She watched the woman drive away into the distance and her heart sank.
Jastine Valdez’s Background
Jastine Valdez was born in 1993 in Aritao, 255 kilometres north of the Filipino capital, Manila. The only child of parents, Teresita and Danilo Valdez, also known as Tess and Danny, Jastine attended St. Teresita’s Academy, a Catholic secondary school in their hometown of Aritao. Teresita and Danilo had moved to Ireland for work, while Jastine remained in the Philippines with family. When they were able to, her parents brought Jastine to Ireland in 2015. The family settled in the small village of Enniskerry in County Wicklow, not far from the Dublin/Wicklow border.
After arriving in Ireland, Jastine immediately began working, studying and building a life for herself. She was extremely close to both of her parents and was in constant contact with them when she wasn’t at home. She was studying Accountancy at IT Tallaght and worked two part-time jobs. Firstly, as a care worker, and secondly, as a waitress in a café in the bustling coastal town of Bray. In November 2017, Jastine began a relationship with Joseph Squire. Joseph later described Jastine as being happy and active. He said, ‘She never got up to any mischief. She never took drugs. She was way too innocent for that’. He added that she was ‘literally the most innocent person I ever met in my life, and I will never forget her’.
The Day of the Abduction
Saturday the 19th of May 2018 was a bright, yet grey-tinged day in County Wicklow. Temperatures ranged from 4 °C at night to highs of 20 °C that afternoon. Jastine Valdez spent most of the day away from home. Some reports suggest that she worked a short early shift in the café that morning. At 2 pm, she presented herself at Bray Garda Station, a local police station for an appointment to review her residency permit.
After meeting with the immigration officer, Jastine went to work out at Ben Dunne’s Gym at Cherrywood Business Park in South County Dublin. As was usual for Jastine, she spent the day messaging her mother Teresita on the Facebook Messenger app, exchanging a total of 63 messages. One of the messages had asked her to pick up bread before heading home, which she dutifully did.
At 5:20 pm, Jastine, still wearing her gym clothes, took the 185 bus from Bray to Enniskerry village, arriving at approximately 6:00 pm. From there, she had a 15–20-minute walk until she reached home. It was a journey she would never have a chance to complete.
Witnesses
Jastine had been abducted in broad daylight, in full view of witnesses. One such witness, Susan Forsythe, was driving along the R760 road between Enniskerry and Powerscourt Estate at approximately 6:10pm. She became immediately concerned when she saw a car stop and bundle a woman into the vehicle. Later, in a court deposition, the witness described how she heard a deep male voice ‘shouting angrily’. It was at this point that she began to ‘feel that something was very wrong’.
She said that she observed a Nissan Qashqai that had stopped on the road, but thought it was unusual that the driver had not put any hazard lights on or given any indication that they were having car trouble. To her horror, she saw a dark-haired girl staring out at her from the vehicle. She began shouting, trying to get Susan’s attention. The shouting quickly turned to screaming, before the driver started the engine and sped off. Susan was so affected by what she had seen that she pulled over and called emergency services.
Ten minutes later, another witness, Gareth Thompson, was leaving Bray and travelling towards the N11, a major road that runs along the east coast from Dublin to Wexford. He found himself driving directly behind a Nissan jeep, and noticed what he thought was a child in the back of the jeep. He said, ‘I noticed a little girl waving. She had both hands up. She had a concerned look. She was sitting at an angle. It didn’t look comfortable’.
Gareth was uneasy about what he had witnessed and couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t quite right. He notified An Garda Síochana, the Irish police at 7:22pm, as soon as he arrived home. Jastine was petite in stature, standing at only 5 feet or 1.52 metres tall. So, it is not surprising that someone seeing her for only a moment might assume that she was far younger than her true age.
In the meantime, the Gardaí had arrived at the scene of the abduction. Here, they found several items scattered on the ground, including Jastine’s smashed-up mobile phone and a plastic bag containing the bread she had bought for her mother. They began interviewing witnesses and instigated both a helicopter and patrol car search of the area. Knowing that the missing girl was in a vehicle and being transported to a secondary location, the probability that they would not find her in time was high.
Gardaí began scouring CCTV and traffic cameras in an attempt to trace the vehicle. It didn’t take them long. Early on Sunday morning, at approximately 3 am, they knocked on the door of a property in Bray, County Wicklow. The Nissan Qashqai was registered to a Mrs Nicola Hennessy. It wasn’t in the driveway, and Nicola didn’t know the whereabouts of her husband Mark. Police now had a solid lead, and a viable suspect in the case.
Mark Hennessy’s Background
Mark Hennessy was born in 1977 and worked as a banksman or signaller on building sites. He and his wife, Nicola, had two children together, two daughters, including a baby who had been born the previous September. Police attempted to retrace Mark Hennessy’s steps from the previous day. His wife said that he had left for work at 7:30 am on Saturday morning, and had worked for several hours, before returning home at 3 pm.
At 5:25 pm, he left the family home, telling his wife that he was going for a drink, presumably to a local pub. He had not returned, and Nicola Hennessy had not seen or heard from her husband since then. Having interviewed Hennessy’s wife and immediate family, they discovered that he was not the happily married family man he liked to project. Instead, his life was spiralling out of control.
His marriage was almost over, and he had accrued significant debt and was a frequent user of cocaine. Most criminologists and investigators would identify this as being a potential trigger or stressor for violent behaviour in the life of a previously non-violent offender. Hennessy had a previous assault conviction, although no details on that conviction are available. He was also facing a driving under the influence charge from the previous year and had yet to attend court for that charge.
Case Developments
When Jastine failed to return home, as expected, Teresita immediately knew that something terrible had happened to her. They had been messaging each other all day, and suddenly, she was met with radio silence. She knew that Jastine would not change her plans at the last minute without letting her parents know. She waited a short time before reporting her daughter missing to Gardaí.
By Sunday morning, Irish media were reporting on the abduction. Police knew who the missing woman was, and they also knew who had likely abducted her. Media were assembled, and a press conference was held on the afternoon of Sunday the 20th of May 2018. Gardaí revealed to the press that they were looking for a particular kind of vehicle, a black, 2017, Nissan Qashqai. They also released a description of Mark Hennessy.
Police Stand-Off
After the press conference, the Irish public were on the lookout for the suspect and his vehicle. An abduction in broad daylight is highly unusual in Ireland, and the public were motivated to help out in any way that they could. Dublin woman, Christina Connolly was leaving work on Sunday evening, when she spotted a Nissan Qashqai that matched the description distributed by the media.
In a daring move, she chose to follow it, calling the Gardaí as she drove. Eventually, the car pulled into Cherrywood Industrial Estate. This is when Christina decided that it would be unwise to pursue the suspect any further. She later said that the driver of the other vehicle was aware that she was following him and kept looking at her in his rearview mirror. An Armed Garda Response Unit arrived at the industrial estate, unsure as to what they would find.
It was after 8 pm and the sky was still bright. Gardaí approached the suspect’s vehicle and cautioned Hennessy to exit. He refused. A Garda advanced towards the driver’s door, drawing a gun from his holster and pointing it in the direction of the suspect.
One witness, James Magee said that he watched from a distance as Hennessy took a 10cm Stanley blade or utility knife, and ‘cut from his left wrist to his elbow in one single slicing motion’. Gardaí attempted to access the vehicle by smashing the window, which didn’t immediately shatter. Hennessy then took the blade and moved it towards his neck.
Magee said that it looked as if he ‘knew everything was over for him’. He placed his hands on the steering wheel and shrugged. There was a sudden flash of white, and a Garda shot once into the vehicle, fatally wounding Hennessy. They removed him from the vehicle, placing his body on the ground so that they could search the Nissan Qashqai for Jastine. Paramedics worked on Hennessey, as they begged him to tell them what he had done with her. There was no trace of Jastine in the car.
Hennessy’s family had joined searches in the local area since they were alerted to the manhunt. They wanted to ensure Mark’s safety, as well as Jastine’s safe return. They had been close to Cherrywood Industrial Estate, searching on foot when they heard raised voices and a gunshot. They rushed to the crime scene but were held back by police. It was unmistakable to the family that Hennessy was deceased. Mark Hennessy was pronounced dead at 8:38 pm.
Discovery of the Body
When Gardaí searched the vehicle, they found a bloodstained piece of paper with handwriting on it. It was difficult for them to discern exactly what it said, as it was covered in wet, dripping blood. Two phrases were legible on the paper. ‘Sorry’, and ‘Puck’s Castle’. There was no sign of Jastine in the vehicle, and their primary witness to her abduction was now deceased. Gardaí faced the prospect that they would not be able to locate her, and even if they did, that it may be too late to save her. They had a lead and decided to follow it.
Puck’s Castle is a 16th-century fortified tower structure located in Rathmichael, South County Dublin. Much of the structure, including the roof, has long since crumbled. The building now consists of an external stone shell of four walls. It is surrounded by dense woodland, making any search of the grounds even more difficult. Gardaí began a fingertip search of the woods in the hope of finding any clue that may lead them to Jastine. They didn’t have to wait for long.
On Monday morning, they recovered Jastine’s handbag. By 3 pm on Monday afternoon, her body was found hidden in thick gorse and undergrowth. She had been dead for several days and was likely killed within hours of her abduction.
Inquest
An inquest was held to determine Jastine’s cause of death. Dr Linda Mulligan, the pathologist who conducted Jastine’s autopsy determined that her cause of death was asphyxia, caused by manual strangulation, and confirmed that she had died some time on Saturday evening. Bruising and abrasions were found around Jastine’s thighs and genitals, but it could not be determined with certainty that she had been sexually assaulted before her death.
Dr Mulligan conducted a toxicology report and discovered that she had ingested cocaine in the hours before her death. Coroner, Dr Myra Cullinane described Jastine’s death as being ‘thoroughly shocking’. She added that it is ‘inconceivable how her parents can bear the loss of their only child … and it is tragic that she’s been so cruelly taken in this way’. The jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing.
The Timeline of Events
Gardaí attempted to piece together a timeline of what had happened on the day of the abduction. After Mark Hennessy had left his home, he arrived at the Ramblers Rest pub in Ballybrack. He entered the pub but didn’t buy a drink. Most of the pub patrons were transfixed on the FA Cup Final that was screening on the TV. Hennessy was described as restless, and after ten minutes, stood up and announced that he was bored, leaving the pub soon after.
They surmised that Mark Hennessy had noticed Jastine walking after she left the gym in Cherrywood. He followed her in his car and watched her board the 185 bus. CCTV from the bus Jastine travelled on confirmed the Nissan Qashqai followed the same route, driving closely behind the vehicle until Hennessy saw Jastine disembark. There was no prior relationship between the two, and authorities were convinced that this was a crime of opportunity with a sexual motive. He snatched Jastine from the street and drove her to an undisclosed location, likely the grounds of Puck’s Castle.
Another motorist reported a black Nissan Qashqai driving erratically on Puck’s Castle Lane at approximately 6:50 pm. Here, he forced her to ingest cocaine and sexually assaulted her. He then hid her body in the undergrowth. After dumping her body, he began trying to score cocaine from one of his many dealers.
Hennessy was seen entering the Ramblers Rest pub again at 11 pm on the evening of the 19th of May. He appears to have loitered in the doorway chatting to patrons but didn’t order a drink. Witnesses have said that he appeared calm and collected and didn’t appear to be in any distress. No one knows where he went or what he did until he drove to the industrial estate and was confronted by police almost 36 hours later.
Repatriation
Jastine’s body was repatriated to her native Philippines for burial. Her parents, Danny and Tess permanently left Ireland, unable to reconcile the loss of their daughter with the country that they had grown to love.
Gardaí were convinced that Mark Hennessy had the modus operandi of a serial sex offender. They reasoned that while his crime appeared opportunistic and impulsive, he demonstrated the traits of someone who had done this many times before. They ran his DNA through a genetic database to see if he could be connected to other open cases. There were no matches.
In the early days of the investigation, it emerged that a man matching Hennessy’s age and physical description had been harassing female passengers at train stations in South County Dublin over several years, including exposing himself to them. We have no definitive proof that Hennessy and the serial flasher were one and the same. We will likely never know, as Mark Hennessy’s secrets died with him.
Sources:
Coonan, Clifford, ‘Hometown of Jastine Valdez prepares for her funeral’, Irish Times, 4th June 2018.
Dublin Live Reporter, ‘Family of Jastine Valdez killer Mark Hennessy ‘shocked’ and ‘traumatised’ as they co-operate with Gardaí in murder probe’, Dublin Live, 25th May 2018.
https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/family-jastine-valdez-killer-mark-14704332
‘Jastine Valdez’, Chilling Crimes, 13th January 2020.
https://www.chillingcrimes.com/blogs/news/jastine-valdez
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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44188720
‘Jastine Valdez: Student’s remains repatriated to Philippines’, BBC, 29th May 2018.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-44287244
O’Toole, Michael & Healy, Paul, ‘Monster who snatched and murdered Jastine Valdez was infatuated with her’, Dublin Live, 9th February 2023.
https://www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-news/monster-who-snatched-murdered-jastine-26192912
‘Puck’s Castle’, Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puck%27s_Castle
Roseingrave, Louise, ‘Inquest told how Mark Hennessy ‘looked as if everything was over’ before garda shot him’, The Journal, 21st January 2020.
https://www.thejournal.ie/mark-hennessy-inquest-4974378-Jan2020/
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https://www.thejournal.ie/jastine-valdez-inquest-mark-hennessy-4977604-Jan2020/
Roseingrave, Louise, ‘Jastine Valdez’s parents speak of never-ending grief at emotional inquest into daughter’s killing’, The Journal, 4th November 2019.
https://www.thejournal.ie/jastine-valdez-inquest-4878916-Nov2019/
Roseingrave, Louise, ‘Man who killed Jastine Valdez shrugged before being short by gardaí, inquest told’, Irish Times, 21st January 2020.
Rosingrave, Louise, ‘Murder victim Jastine Valdez (24) died of asphyxia, inquest hears’, Irish Independent, 18th December 2018.
Sheehan, Maeve, ‘Jastine Valdez murder: When innocence collided with evil on a quiet country road’, Irish Independent, 27th May 2018.