Mother wants to exhume daughters body from her grave in Cork

Her daughter died in 2013.

Rebecca Saunders is seeking an exhumation of her daughter Clarissa's body from her Cork grave as she regrets burying the three-year-old with her father. Martin McCarthy, Clarissa's father, drowned himself and his daughter in the sea at Audley Cove in March 2013. At the time of the tragic deaths Rebecca decided to have both Martin and Clarissa buried together in West Cork. Eight years on though Rebecca regrets the decision stating that she did not realise how premeditated her daughter's death had been. Saunders met Martin McCarthy during a trip to Ireland when she was 16. Mr McCarthy was 42 at the time. After a brief relationship the two became married but Saunders says things started to fall apart quickly. Shortly before her husband decided to take his life and the life of their daughter Ms Saunders had sought a divorce. According to The Irish Times Ms Saunders said a note left by Mr McCarthy indicated that the divorce had precipitated his actions in killing himself and their child.

"It explained that because of my actions, because of wanting a divorce this was all due to my decision of my wanting to, as he saw it, take Clarissa away from him and dissolve the marriage."

Ms Saunders says that she wants to have her Clarissa's body exhumed so she could bring her home to the United States, where Saunders is originally from and lives once more. Ms Saunders has remarried and lives in America with her husband and their two daughters. Saunders says that while she knows nothing will ever bring Clarissa back she feels bringing her back to the States will give her some closure;

"I know that exhuming her is not going to bring her back to me, but it will be some small amount of closure,” she said. “There will be some small amount of closure that I no longer have to think that she’s in the arms of that monster."