THE killer Joe O’Reilly was sentenced for his wife’s shocking murder in 2004, which sent shockwaves across Ireland.
The Channel 5 documentary The Lies: Who Killed Rachel O’Reilly dove into the case and why Joe murdered his wife. Here’s everything you need to know.
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Who is Joe O’Reilly?
Joe O’Reilly, 45, was convicted for the murder of his wife Rachel O’Reilly (previously Callaly) in 2007, after one of the most widely publicised criminal investigations in Ireland.
He killed Rachel with a dumbbell at their home in Naul, Co Dublin on October 4, 2004.
Then, he staged the scene to look like a robbery and led Rachel’s mother, Rose, to find the body.
Joe also infamously appeared on The Late Late Show with Rose, a few weeks after the murder.
That was the moment where everything changed for Rachel’s mother.
She said that she knew he killed her daughter after the appearance, where he showed no grief for his murdered wife.
Joe was eventually arrested and later found guilty of murder in July 2007.
The jury heard extensive phone evidence which placed him at the crime scene despite his claim that he was working at a depot several miles away.
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Why did Joe O’Reilly kill Rachel O’Reilly?
Joe O’Reilly had an argument with his wife Rachel the night before the brutal murder.
He was also having a nine-month affair with advertising executive Nikki Pelley, 42, and planned to leave Rachel.
Joe also planned to request custody of their two children.
Days after beating his wife to death, he went back to the scene with Rachel’s family and showed them how he believed the murderer would have killed their daughter.
Joe was really acting out how he carried out the murder.
Rachel Callaly’s father Jim said: “When we arrived he was saying ‘Come on and I’ll show you how this happened’ and he brought us to the bedroom and he was literally going through it blow by blow.
“He was telling us to look at blood stains on the wall and everything. I felt sick. I had to leave the house.”
Where is Joe O’Reilly now?
O’Reilly is now serving a life sentence in Wheatfield Prison.
He is said to have made a dramatic transformation, enjoying a vegan lifestyle and growing plants.
But in July 2021 he was caught with a USB stick full of movies, losing his ‘model prisoner’ status.
On December 12, 2021, he submitted a request to authorities for temporary release from prison for the festive period, which was denied.
Rachel’s distraught father Jim Callaly told the Sunday World: “I don’t think he should ever be let out of prison. He’s a dangerous psychopath.
“He gets his kicks out of seeing people suffering.”
O’Reilly continues to deny he is responsible for his wife’s death to this day, refusing to show any remorse.