Denise was a nineteen-year-old girl who resided at her mother’s home at 169 Ballycolman Estate, Strabane, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, and who was employed as a textile worker at Herdman’s Spinning Mill, in the village of Sion Mills approximately three miles outside of Strabane.

Denise’s body was found on the morning of Sunday 21st November 1976, in eight inches of water at the edge of the river Mourne. The spot in the river where the body was found was a few hundred yards directly in front of Denise's home.

The references in this article to Denise's brothers refer to her half-brothers, whose surname is Barr, as Denise's mother had been married for the second time, her first husband Charles having died some years previously. There were four boys and one girl in the Barr family and two girls in the O'Donnell family.

It should be emphasised that this article has not been produced as a propaganda exercise against the R.U.C but to publicise the points of concern which arose during the early stages of the investigation into Denise's death. Events have been detailed as they occurred during the investigation, and some aspects of the investigation as carried out by the Police Officers involved remain a major source of concern to Denise's family.

It is hoped that the production of this article will contribute in some small way to the eventual resolution of the events surrounding the untimely death of Denise with justice having been seen to have been served. And again, it is hoped, that by publicising the events which occurred during the investigation into the death, that a situation may result which will make it more difficult for the investigation of such tragic incidents to be handled in such a frivolous manner.