Notorious sex killer who raped and murdered civil servant enjoys unsupervised prison day release
We confront predator who raped and murdered civil servant Marilyn Rynn as he enjoys unsupervised day away from jail
Civil servant Marilynn Rynn, who was raped and murdered by David Lawler as she made her way home from a work Christmas party in 1995
Larry Murphy, is the first cousing of David Lawler
Arrogant sex killer David Lawler, a first cousin of notorious predator Larry Murphy, is taking his first steps towards freedom as he enjoys unaccompanied day releases from Arbour Hill prison.
The 60-year-old beast, a former telephone technician, brutally raped and murdered civil servant Marilyn Rynn as she took a shortcut home from a Christmas party in the early hours of December 22, 1995.
We confronted Lawler — the first killer in Irish history to be caught as a result of DNA testing — outside a convenience store in Dublin city centre on Friday morning, a short time after he was released to attend a course in the capital.
'David, my name is Patrick O'Connell, I'm a reporter with the Sunday World,' our man said.
Larry Murphy, is the first cousing of David Lawler
'Are you enjoying your first taste of freedom?'
Refusing to comment, Lawler brushed past out reporter, who then asked the sick predator whether he would like to apologise to his innocent victim Marilyn Rynn's family.
Again, Lawler refused to comment.
Asked whether he is still in contact with his notorious cousin, Larry Murphy, who remains a suspect in the murder of Deirdre Jacobs and who also served out his sentence for rape in Arbour Hill, Lawler again made no response.
Marilyn was raped and strangled after she took a shortcut on her way home from a work Christmas party in the early hours of December 22, 1995.
The 41-year-old, who lived in Blanchardstown in west Dublin, was employed in the civil service with the Department of the Environment
David Lawler during his day release from Arbour Hill
On the night of December 21, 1995, she had attended a work Christmas night out with her colleagues at Shieling Hotel in Raheny.
She left the party at 2am and later met with friends for food on O'Connell Street.
At around 3am she took the Nitelink bus home from Westmoreland Street.
After disembarking near her home, Marilyn took a shortcut home through Tolka Valley Park, where she was attacked by Lawler.
She was raped and strangled.
Marilyn was reported missing on St Stephen's Day after she failed to turn up for Christmas dinner at her parents' home.
Her body was recovered on January 7, 1996, from Tolka Valley Park after a cadaver dog found her remains during a planned search.
Semen recovered from her body had been preserved by the freezing temperatures at the time.
David Lawler during his trial in 1998
In the initial stages of the investigation, gardaí examined a potential link between Marilyn's murder and the disappearance of Annie McCarrick, upon learning that Annie had an acquaintance who had contact with Rynn before her death.
A businessman in his 60s, who was known to Annie, was arrested on suspicion of her murder earlier this week.
Asked on Friday if he was surprised an arrest had been made in the Annie McCarrick murder, Lawler again made no comment.
Through an exhaustive investigation in the days and weeks after Marilyn's murder, during which gardaí took over 2,000 statements and 354 blood samples, the connection between Annie's murder and that of Marilyn Rynn was ruled out.
Instead, officers zeroed in on David Lawler, who, like Larry Murphy, was originally from Baltinglass in Co. Wicklow, but who had been living in Blanchardstown at the time.
David Lawler and Larry Murphy
News in 90 seconds - 16th June 2025
He too had also attended a Christmas party on the same night as Marilyn.
His sentencing hearing was told by Det. Inspector Derek Byrne that Lawler had been drinking heavily since the lunchtime before Marilyn was murdered.
During house-to-house enquiries following the discovery of Rynn's body, Lawler admitted to being in the area at the time of the crime.
Prior to his arrest, he used the internet to research DNA and falsely believed evidence of his crime could not survive the elements and consented to giving a blood sample.
He subsequently gave a sample in February 1996.
Speaking on Ireland's Most Shocking Crimes: The Murder of Marilyn Rynn, which aired on TV3 in 2017, former Detective Sergeant Alan Bailey added: 'DNA trace evidence was a relatively new concept in this jurisdiction at that stage. It had just been a year or two earlier that the gathering of DNA at crime scenes had started.'
Civil servant Marilynn Rynn, who was raped and murdered by David Lawler as she made her way home from a work Christmas party in 1995
Director of Forensic Science Ireland Dr Louise McKenna was the first to examine the DNA.
'The samples from the post mortem came in and so I immediately started looking at the vaginal swabs to see if there had been a sexual assault. And I found semen on the swabs but I was a bit concerned because the amount wasn't very big,' she said.
'Because at the time the DNA technology wasn't very sensitive but I passed the swabs onto my colleague then, Dr Maureen Smith, who did generate a profile from the swabs, so the guards were delighted and they started bringing in blood samples for us to compare.'
They were able to connect a DNA sample to David Lawler, who had been interviewed by gardaí.
However, the cocky killer believed he wouldn't be caught because he'd searched online to establish how long DNA lasts in the natural elements.
Retired Assistant Commissioner Martin Donnellan said: 'I'd say he thought he had got away with it, because if the weather wasn't so cold and frosty the DNA wouldn't have lasted the 16 days.'
Gardaí also discovered Lawler had been enjoying nights out in the wake of the murder and had even got his wife pregnant afterwards, when she was completely unaware of his crime.
The DNA match returned in July 1996 and Lawler was charged with Marilyn's murder in August that year.
After being presented with the evidence gathered by gardaí while detained, Lawler confessed to the crime and said he only killed her because she recognised him from living near her home.
Bailey added: 'We'll never be able to imagine the last few minutes that Marilyn Rynn endured at the hands of that monster in the park in Blanchardstown Christmas week.'
Lawler pleaded guilty at his 1998 trial and was sentenced to life imprisonment by Mr Justice Kevin O'Higgins.
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