Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Deenihan, and thank him for coming before the House to deal with this matter, which calls on the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to bring pressure on the German authorities to have an inquiry reopened into the circumstances surrounding the death of Mr. Matthew Fitzpatrick from Portumna, County Galway, in Mannheim, Germany, on 11 December 2010. Mr. Fitzpatrick was a successful computer engineer and was aged 34 when he was found dead in his apartment in Mannheim two weeks before Christmas in 2010. He had intended to come home to Portumna in order to spend the holidays with his family. The autopsy conducted by the German authorities indicated that Matthew died by self-inflicted strangulation.

His family had its suspicions and conducted its own inquiries and investigations.

A second autopsy was conducted in Dublin on 18 December 2010 when Matthew's body was repatriated by the former deputy State pathologist, Dr. Khalid Jaber. It raised several troubling questions which have convinced the Fitzpatrick family that Matthew did not die by suicide, but had been the victim of a violent assault given the range of injuries found on his body, 45 in total, some of which were defensive. The police investigators in Mannheim initially closed the case on 22 December 2010, but after much pressure from the family the investigation was reopened. In June 2014 it concluded that there was no reason to change its view on what happened to Matthew. The public prosecutor in Mannheim disregarded most of the evidence submitted by the Fitzpatrick family and several other aspects, including the autopsy conducted by the former deputy State pathologist, Dr. Jaber.

There are several very troubling aspects to this case. Recently the family requested an independent forensic radiologist to review CT scans which were taken of Matthew's body prior to the first autopsy in Germany. Unfortunately, the scans were of a low resolution and therefore it requested high resolution scans from Heidelberg where the first autopsy took place in order that the independent review could be completed. The family's lawyer submitted the request and was told yesterday that all autopsy medical information related to Matthew no longer exists. These CT scans provided specific information relating to injuries sustained by Matthew and it is deeply disturbing that the German authorities have destroyed this vital information. It is my understanding and that of the family that these records should be kept for a minimum of ten years. We believe this to be a European standard to which Germany has agreed.

There were other troubling aspects. Witnesses and the family provided information on abusive and threatening messages that Matthew received from an individual. The German authorities did not question this individual because he needed a translator. The family also provided evidence that Matthew's PC and laptop were accessed after his death. This access happened three hours after his body was found, on the following day and on three further occasions until 7 January 2011. The police stated that there was no technology in the apartment and no further analysis has been done to identify who had access to Matthew's IT equipment. The family also provided evidence on text messages from Matthew's phone, but this information was not analysed or taken into account.

The witness who found Matthew's body has changed his account of the position of the body three times. The person stated that he was hanging. The family provided evidence to show that this was impossible. The witness was allowed to change his account with no analysis or cross-examination. There were thefts of equipment belonging to Matthew from the apartment, including his professional camera, personal laptop and baseball bat. This was reported to the police, but it rejected it as an issue.

There is clear evidence that the investigation conducted to date has been flawed. The family is convinced that it has provided enough evidence and proof to show that Matthew did not take his own life. The family is asking for a meeting with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Flanagan, and for a thorough analysis to be conducted by the Minister and the Department of the evidence it is in a position to provide. The Minister could then put pressure on the German authorities to reopen the review of the circumstances leading to the death of Matthew Fitzpatrick, a young man who had a bright career and future ahead of him and who lost his life in very tragic circumstances.

The family is convinced that he did not die by suicide, but that there were injuries on his body which will prove he was the victim of a severe and vicious attack. I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to address this matter. I look forward to his reply. I hope my request for a meeting between the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and the family can be acceded to.