An American woman who was given permission to exhume her body after her Irish husband drowned her three-year-old daughter and agreed to bury them together in a “fog of pain and shock”.
Rebecca Saunders, 26, was planning to divorce 50-year-old Martin McCarthy before she disappeared with their daughter Clarissa in March 2013.
Their bodies were later found at Audley Cove in West Cork, where McCarthy took his daughter out to sea.
Three days later, father and daughter were buried together in a single coffin at Schull, which Rebecca later admitted was a “terrible decision”.
After hearing that she had “disappointed her baby girl” in Ireland, she launched a campaign to have her daughter’s body exhumed so that it could be taken to Texas, where she lives.
Writing on Twitter today, Rebecca announced she had obtained permission to exhume Clarissa’s remains: “9 years later I will be able to correct my terrible mistake! I can’t wait to bring Brawl home! This is really overdue. It’s a vacation!
Rebecca Saunders had planned to divorce Martin McCarthy, pictured 50, before she disappeared with their young daughter Clarissa in March 2013. Their bodies were later found at Audley Cove in West Cork, where McCarthy took his daughter out to sea. Their bodies were buried together, but Rebecca obtained permission to exhume the body.
Rebecca (pictured with Clarissa) had previously revealed the chilling content of the note McCarthy left before she committed the gruesome murder-suicide.
After feeling like she had “failed” her baby in Ireland, Rebecca started a campaign to have her daughter’s body taken to Texas, where she lives.
‘A big thank you to everyone who helped shape this. You have no idea what this means to me and my family.
Last year on RTÉ One’s Claire Byrne Live, Rebecca spoke about the chilling content of the note McCarthy left her before she committed the horrific murder-suicide.
If you can take Clarissa to America, I can take Clarissa to heaven. Now you can get on with the rest of your life because mine and Clarissa’s are almost over.
“When you read this letter, Clarissa and I will be in heaven. You didn’t realize how much I loved you, I didn’t see my daughter being raised by her step-dad.’
Rebecca claimed that she was “in shock” after reading the note, stating that “Because of my behavior, I wanted a divorce, so this was all due to my decision to push Clarissa away from him, as she saw him and end the marriage.
Writing on Twitter today, Rebecca announced she had obtained permission to exhume Clarissa’s remains: “9 years later I will be able to correct my terrible mistake! I can’t wait to bring Brawl home! This is really overdue. It’s a vacation!’
“The note didn’t describe anything as far as you know about Clarissa’s future or Clarissa’s well-being, just because of the actions you did to yourself, I tried to do everything possible.
“The last line in the letter is that you will never forget this day, and you certainly did, and I was shocked to read this note… I told the Guards to call the Coast Guard.”
Rebecca, who has since remarried and has more children, said she deeply regretted burying her daughter with her “monster” father and requested that her tomb be opened so she could be buried in Texas.
He told the show: “I felt I had made a very serious mistake as Clarissa’s coffin was sealed and lowered into that tomb.
Rebecca, who has since remarried and has two more children, said she deeply regretted her daughter (pictured together) being buried with her “monster” father and requested that she be exhumed so she could live in Texas.
In an interview in 2021, Rebecca said she didn’t believe she could ever forgive McCarthy for her despicable behavior. In the photo, Rebecca with her daughter
“Even though I understood what I had decided eight years ago, certain circumstances arose that made me realize how complex Martin’s plan was, and I felt like burying them together was a huge mistake.
“I feel like I’ve basically let him down because they’re gone and it’s the grave and where he’s buried and how he’s buried and with whom he’s buried, and I’m stressed out because I’m better off studying if I can get him home.
“I know, I know digging her hair won’t get me back, but it’s going to be a bit of a lock. I hate to use that word but if I can find Clarissa, if I can get her home, that’s what will happen.
“It will be a small turn off to keep me from thinking that beast is in his arms.”
He said about the GoFundMe Page, which exceeded its $50,000 goal, that he was “determined” to correct his “terrible mistake” despite the obvious obstacles it faced.
After months of suffering, Rebecca finally got her wish.
Rebecca told RTÉ One’s Claire Byrne Live that she was campaigning to exhume her daughter’s body, agreeing to bury her and her father together in a “cloud of pain and shock”. Today, Rebecca announced she was successful in her campaign.
Rebecca met McCarthy when she was a teenager studying in Ireland and they married in the summer of 2006.
In an interview with Opinion Line about Cork’s 96FM in 2021, the mother said she didn’t feel like she could ever forgive him for his despicable behavior.
“I feel like he’s using his daughter like a sword to stab me in the heart. And I think it’s very wrong,” he said.
“I think the expectation of burying Clarissa this early…wasn’t fair. Clarissa and her father died on Tuesday and were buried on Friday.
Rebecca added: “In that short time, I had to decide what happened to this little girl who became my world.
“The first thought that struck me in the shock I found was that I didn’t want him to be alone.
“At the time, I didn’t know how Martin was. The steps he took to make sure that if it wasn’t for that day, he would have made the steps that would have run the end of the game another day.”
He later learned that McCarthy had gone to family court to make sure that if Rebecca returned to the United States, Clarissa would not be allowed to leave the country.
“There was a restriction on his passport. “If I wanted to leave the country with Clarissa, I couldn’t have done it,” he explained.
“The way his will was written makes it clear to me that he has planned what he will do as punishment for me. It took him at least a month to plan.
‘He started changing his will at the beginning of February. I think it was just a matter of time. He had a chance that night and he took it.’
For confidential support, log on to samaritans.org or call Samaritans on 116123.
Source: Daily Mail
