22 - The horrific murder of Sylvia Fleming

The year 1998 was a particularly difficult one for the small town of Omagh, in Northern Ireland. There finally seemed to be a workable plan in place to bring about the beginning of a peace process, but along with that, emotions were heightened. Just days before the agreement was signed, Sylvia Fleming (17) was out celebrating her first paycheque from her first job. She visited her ex boyfriend that night, and was never seen again. Her sisters, with whom Sylvia was very close, realised that something was wrong very quickly. The pregnant teenager would never have just left them. But they never thought that she would have suffered the fate that she did. Join us this week as we look at the tragic events surrounding Sylvia Fleming's murder, and how her community was torn apart that year. Our podcast Promo this week is from investigative journalist Scott Reeder and his team over at Suspect Convictions (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/suspect-convictions/id1191383402) podcast. Find us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/mensreapod/) or Twitter (https://twitter.com/MensReaPod) ! With thanks to our supporters on Patreon! If you would like to support the podcast, head on over to Patreon.com (https://www.patreon.com/MensReaPod) .   Theme Music: Quinn’s Song: The Dance Begins by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/  Sources:  "My Pregnant Sister's Body Was Buried Under a House” from Britain's Darkest Taboos Season 3 episode 6 (Crime + Investigation, 2014) watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5h2_d2SNU9Y   Scott, R v [2004] NICC 19 (15 November 2004)    Ciaran Barnes, “Shock at Belfast KFC as man who dismembered girlfriend queues for lunch” in The Belfast Telegraph https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/shock-at-belfast-kfc-as-man-who-dismembered-girlfriend-queues-for-lunch-36187709.html 2 October 2017    Scott, R v [2004] NICC 19 (15 November 2004)    Staff Reporter, “Notorious murderer Stephen Scott who killed, chopped up and buried pregnant teenage girlfriend back on Northern Ireland streets” in The Belfast Telegraph https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/pictured-notorious-murderer-stephen-scott-who-killed-chopped-up-and-buried-pregnant-teenage-girlfriend-back-on-northern-ireland-streets-35887831.html 3 July 2017    “Fleming family want murderer Stephen Scott banned from Omagh” in Ulster Herald http://ulsterherald.com/2014/07/03/fleming-family-want-murderer-stephen-scott-banned-from-omagh/ 2 July 2014    http://www.crossexaminer.co.uk/archives/20101 10 July 2017    Alan Rodgers, “Family's 'shock' as Sylvia's killer is released” in Ulster Herald http://ulsterherald.com/2015/11/26/familys-shock-as-sylvias-killer-is-released/ (Incorrectly dated as 26 November 2015, last accessed 8 August 2018)    Joe McCusker, “"WHY?; This man helped a murderer to hide a young girl's body..now he's free after eight months.."in The Free Library. 2001 MGN LTD https://www.thefreelibrary.com/WHY%3f%3b+This+man+helped+a+murderer+to+hide+a+young+girl%27s+body..now...-a076792169   “Murdered girl's family appeals for calm after riots” in The Irish Times https://www.irishtimes.com/news/murdered-girl-s-family-appeals-for-calm-after-riots-1.159717 4 June 1998    “Four due in court after body of teenager found” in The Irish Times https://www.irishtimes.com/news/four-due-in-court-after-body-of-teenager-found-1.158631 1 June 1998    “Man admits burying body of victim” in The Irish Times https://www.irishtimes.com/news/man-admits-burying-body-of-victim-1.260885 29 March 2000    Rosetta Donnelly, “Plea for end to evil as slain teen laid to rest” in The Irish Independent https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/plea-for-end-to-evil-as-slain-teen-laid-to-rest-26182934.html 6 June 1998    “Timeline of the Omagh bombing” in The Irish Times https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/timeline-of-the-omagh-bombing-1.1525134 12 September 2013    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omagh   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omagh_bombing