Police ombudsman finds failings in cold case murder of Marian Beattie, 18, found in Tyrone quarry

The family of an 18 year-old girl found dead at the bottom of a quarry in the 1970s have been vindicated by a watchdog's finding that police failures hampered the murder probe.

Portadown teen Marian Beattie was found dead at the bottom of a quarry in March 1973, and no one has ever been brought to justice.

Almost fifty years on from what was described by the RUC at the time as a "vicious and cruel murder with sadistic overtones", no-one has ever been brought to justice.

Her family say they have always known the police investigation at the time was not good enough.

Now, UTV News can reveal that the Police Ombudsman agrees with them.

Miss Beattie had been at a charity dance at Haddens Garage on the outskirts of Aughnacloy with her best friend and brother, before being seen leaving with a man at around 1am.

Soon after, in a nearby quarry, there was thought to have been a struggle and Marian fell more than 100ft to her death.

It is believed the killer then made their way down to the bottom of the quarry and removed items of Marian's clothing using matches to illuminate the scene.

In a statement to UTV News, the Police Ombudsman said it had, "identified failings in the original police investigation and further work is ongoing to answer the concerns raised by the family."

"As the Police Ombudsman investigation is ongoing it is not possible to provide further information at this time,” it added.

The PSNI said it would be inappropriate to comment at this stage. 

In September 2021, a man voluntarily presented himself at Musgrave police station and was questioned by detectives under caution but he was not arrested.

The public are asked to contact +44(0)7543116705 with any information relating to Marian Beattie's murder.