Irishman strangles Swiss student

Photo: Irishman strangles Swiss student

An Irishman was accused Friday of killing a Swiss student who had come to Galway to study English.

Gerard Barry, 27, did not speak during his brief arraignment in Galway District Court. He was jostled and jeered by an angry crowd outside the courthouse.

Swiss and Irish mourners gathered Friday near Bern, Switzerland, for the funeral of 17-year-old Manuela Riedo. She was slain Oct. 8, two days after her 43-student group arrived in Ireland to study English for two weeks in Galway, a university city in western Ireland.

The police officer who formally charged Barry with murder, Detective Sgt. Brendan Carroll, testified that Barry did not reply to the charge but shook his head to indicate no.

Judge Mary Fahy ordered Barry to be held without bail at Castlerea Prison in western Ireland pending his next court appearance Oct. 26. She granted the defendant taxpayer-funded legal representation.

Outside the courthouse, about 100 people cursed and pushed Barry as he was being escorted in handcuffs by two police officers. The crowd applauded as he was driven off to prison.

Police said Barry had been placed under surveillance before his arrest Thursday along with his brother, sister and brother-in-law. Police released the other three without charge overnight but said they were sending state prosecutors files of evidence against each of them alleging they withheld evidence implicating Barry in the killing.

Barry was arrested on suspicion of committing another rape of an Irish woman at knifepoint in August, but he was released without charge at that time.

Police said they recovered a knife during a search by police divers Thursday of the sea bed of Lough Atalia, an inlet near the spot where Riedo's partly clothed body was found Oct. 9.

The Irish ambassador to Switzerland, James Sharkey, and several Galway politicians and police officers were attending Riedo's funeral.