‘Scissor Sisters’ now years after slicing off penis and head of mum’s boyfriend

Charlotte and Linda Mulhall, known as the Scissor Sisters, were convicted for the killing of their mother’s boyfriend in Dublin in 2005 – and now Charlotte could soon walk free from Limerick Prison

A photograph has been doing the rounds online seemingly depicting Scissor Sister Charlotte Mulhall browsing for sweets in a supermarket in Ireland — as her release from custody draws near.

It’s believed the murderer, now aged 40, could be freed from jail permanently within mere weeks after meeting with parole officials to discuss her potential liberation.

The board is expected to inform her by the end of August whether she’ll be granted her freedom, while she continues serving her life term at Limerick Prison, having enjoyed unsupervised overnight temporary releases over the past year.

She could soon be back with her sister Linda Mulhall, 21 years after the pair earned their sinister moniker for carrying out one of Ireland’s most “grotesque” killings.

Now, over two decades later, we revisit the horrifying case and peer into both sisters’ lives since they became murderers.

Their victim was Farah Swalwah Noor, 40, who was in a relationship with their mother Kathleen, with his dismembered remains eventually discovered floating in Dublin’s Royal Canal — though his head was never found.

Detective Garda (Irish police) Daniel Kenna previously remarked: “I have worked on a lot of murders and murder is murder but in this circumstance, the fact that the body was mutilated in the way it was after the killing and the fact that it was done by women made it particularly gruesome.”

Killing

The day of terror unfolded around St Patrick’s weekend in March 2005, commencing with a drug and alcohol-fuelled spree involving the sisters. Noor, a married father of two with a reported history of violence against women, including rape allegations, was also part of the debauchery.

He shared a home with Kathleen in Dublin after they relocated from their previous residence in Cork. Throughout their relationship, Kathleen reportedly landed in hospital multiple times, once due to fractured ribs.

However, it was Noor who would endure the brunt of a drug-induced frenzy fuelled by vodka and ecstasy, during which he aggressively made advances on Linda, before being killed and dismembered. Some accounts suggest he was murdered on March 20.

Charlotte used a Stanley knife to stab Noor 27 times while Linda attacked him with a claw hammer. The deceased man’s head and penis were severed and have never been recovered.

The sisters allegedly spent hours on the bathroom floor dissecting his body before placing parts into plastic bags.

They discarded his limbs and torso in the canal before boarding a bus to Tallaght in southwest Dublin, concealing the victim’s head. They reportedly hid it before it was moved again.

Meanwhile, Kathleen assisted in cleaning up the crime scene.

Believing they might have escaped the horrific crime, Noor’s leg, still adorned with a sock, was discovered floating in the canal approximately ten days later.

Judge Paul Carney labelled it as “the most grotesque killing that has ever occurred” in his professional tenure.

Former Detective Superintendent Frank Keenaghan chimed in: “This was a particularly gruesome and shocking crime and certainly everybody was aware of it. It was the talk of the country that this person should be murdered, stabbed, dismembered, and then the body part gotten rid of.

“And then when you look at it in the cold light of day, they’re on the bus with the head, or having breakfast.”

Despite Noor’s history of violence towards women, Keenaghan maintained that his brutal death could never be justified, stating: “There are ways of dealing with people and while he may have provoked Linda, she certainly could have gone to the guards and made a complaint and he would have, more than likely, been incarcerated. But to die in the manner he did, and to be dismembered the way he was, no human being deserves that.”

Charlotte received a life sentence for murder. Linda was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 15 years.

Kathleen was given a five-year sentence for obstructing the investigation by hiding evidence.

Charlotte Mulhall

Charlotte Mulhall continues to serve her time and holds the record as the longest-serving female prisoner in the country. She reportedly takes part in education and fitness classes.

She has even earned the title of a “model prisoner” after “cleaning up her act” during her time behind bars – although she has been embroiled in controversies.

Despite currently being housed in Limerick Prison, she originally served her sentence within Mountjoy Prison’s female wing, where a shocking photograph emerged. The image depicted Charlotte grinning while pressing a sizeable knife against a male prisoner’s neck in 2008.

This incident sparked serious concerns about why male and female inmates were permitted to interact and how the murderer had obtained such a weapon.

She was subsequently alleged to have engaged in an “inappropriate sexual relationship” with a male staff member, and in 2014 she was reportedly discovered with alcohol in her cell. Merely twelve months later, reports emerged that she had been placed in isolation after using heated hair straighteners to burn a fellow prisoner’s back, according to the Irish Independent.

She also allegedly operated a hair and beauty business named Head And Shoulders with Linda, reportedly a twisted nod to how they dismembered their victim’s remains.

Now residing in Limerick, recent accounts have portrayed her more positively, with a source telling us in 2023: “She is no trouble at all and spends most of her time doing school and fitness classes. She just wants to get out and get on with her life.”

In 2024, it emerged that Charlotte was being permitted excursions from the facility to prepare her for eventual release. According to the Sunday World, one such outing involved a cinema trip to watch the horror sci-fi film Alien: Romulus.

She has also been granted permission to visit relatives. Inmates serving life terms will invariably face restrictions following their release, though it’s understood Charlotte could potentially be granted freedom on licence, possibly in the near future.

Meanwhile, last year reports emerged suggesting she had been displaying her gentler nature while detained at Limerick Prison.

Discussing her pastime, a source revealed to the Irish Sun on Sunday: “Mulhall is big into sewing and knitting and spending hours every day making things including gorgeous little teddy bears. She’s very talented.

“She is a lot more settled than when she first arrived from Dublin’s Dochas Centre, but that could be down to the fact that she knows freedom is coming soon.”

Linda Mulhall

Linda was subsequently freed in 2018 at the age of 43 following her manslaughter conviction.

Predictably, journalists immediately sought her out, though she declared: “I just want to get on with living my life. I don’t want to be giving any story.”

Mother-of-three Kathleen has nevertheless provided some glimpses to the press, suggesting tensions exist between herself and Linda.

Following her daughter’s release, she revealed: “I’m tired. I really am. Sometimes I just think I don’t want to wake up anymore but then when Linda came out of prison it gave me a bit of hope to want to live again, but there was no contact from her. She wouldn’t even answer a message that I sent her.”

Despite their fractured relationship, she seems to maintain a stronger connection with Charlotte.

She revealed in another interview: “I only talk with Charlotte. She is my life. She is my only child and Andrew is my only son.”

Linda, who pursued beauty therapy while incarcerated, was subsequently commended by her daughter, Nikita Mulhall, for eliminating “a dirty rapist off the streets”.

In a Facebook post, she declared: “Boils my blood no one will ever know the true story to what happened. If he was in prison and the three of them were in the ground, how much different would it have been?”

Nikita, who is herself a mother and fitness instructor once crowned player of the tournament at the 2017 Homeless World Cup, continued: “You’ve done your time, Linda, well done – go live your life, you deserve it.”

She further stated: “Then the night it happened, he messes with the wrong woman – he wasn’t getting away with raping another woman that night.”

Linda was understood to have relocated to the UK following her release from prison, with a source telling the Irish Sunday Mirror: “It’s believed Linda tried to get a number to Charlotte recently in prison to contact her on.

“It was an English number which suggests she’s over in the UK. There was speculation when she was first released that she would not stay in Ireland as she was too recognisable and would get hassled by the public. By all accounts she was a model prisoner when she was in jail and just wants to start over and get on with her life.

“It’s understood she was madly in love with a former prison officer who she really fell for but that didn’t last so she had no reason to stay in Ireland. Linda was very close to Charlotte while locked up so people found it strange she hadn’t been to visit her. However, Linda giving her a contact number is a clear indication she wants to get in touch and find out how her sister is.”