A MAN who brutally murdered a West Belfast teenager 20 years ago died from “catastrophic” head injuries after a crash in England last month, an inquest has heard.
Megan McAlorum was just 16-years-old when she was beaten to death by Thomas Purcell on Easter Sunday in April 2004 after he offered her a lift while she was walking home from a takeaway.
Megan McAlorum (16)
Her body was later found on the outskirts of West Belfast with injuries including 54 fractures to her skull.
Purcell, who was 16-years-old at the time of the murder, was sentenced for 15 years imprisonment. He was released from prison in 2021.
Last month, Purcell was one of two men seriously injured in a two-vehicle road traffic collision between a black MG ZS and a white Citroen Berlingo van on the A40 between Swinbrook and Burford in England on March 4. Purcell, the driver of the MG died in hospital on March 16. The driver of the van was badly injured but is recovering.
At the opening of an inquest this week in Oxford, it was revealed Purcell died from a traumatic brain injury.
Oxfordshire coroner Darren Salter heard Purcell was driving a car on March 4 in Burford when his vehicle was involved in a collision with a van.
He remained on life support at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford before succumbing to his injuries on March 14 — almost three years to the day of his release from prison. He was identified to hospital staff by his brother Philip.
A date for a full inquest was set for September.
