The most brutal, grotesque killing in Ireland ever: Why Scissor Sisters evil crime still shocks after 16 years

• Author: Pat Flanagan
• Published date: 01 February 2021
• Date: 01 February 2021
• Publication title: DublinLive (Ireland)

That two young women could stab and beat to death their mother's boyfriend and then dismember his body shocked and appalled the nation.

Charlotte and Linda Mulhall sank to extreme levels of depravity when they cut off Farah Swaleh Noor's head and penis and then dumped his chopped-up body in Dublin's Royal Canal.

To add to the horror, they were caught on CCTV eating breakfast rolls shortly after the murder – with the victim's head still in a bag on Linda's shoulder.

The head was never found.

Charlotte Mulhall, 37, would be sentenced to life in prison for the grisly murder, while her older sister was handed a 15-year term for manslaughter.

Linda was released in 2018 having served 12 years of her sentence.

Charlotte did not set out to murder their mother's lover but one of the most notorious murders in the annals of Irish crime began with a drink and drug-taking session on March 20, 2005.

Linda, 44, and Charlotte, along with their mother Kathleen and her Kenyan partner Farah Swaleh Noor, headed into Dublin city centre and spent the day drinking and consuming ecstasy.

Later on they returned to Kathleen's flat in Summerhill, Dublin, where they continued taking drugs and drinking.

The fuse that led to an explosion of extreme violence when Linda was sitting on a couch and Noor, 38, started touching her in a sexual way and refusing to let her go.

When he made advances and whispered how they...