The Galway man who was yesterday convicted of the murder of Swiss teenager Manuela Riedo had a long history of violence, including sexual assault.

The jury in the murder trial of 29-year-old Gerard Barry took two hours and 38 minutes to return a verdict of guilty of murder at the Central Criminal Court.

The seven-day trial heard that mobile phone evidence placed Barry in the Lough Atalia area of Renmore near Galway on the evening the 17-year-old student disappeared. Her body was found in that area the following morning.

There was also DNA evidence from a condom found nearby. The state pathologist outlined a catalogue of injuries that were visible on the dead girl's body.

Barry had made statements to the gardaí denying any involvement, but giving evidence in the trial, he claimed that he had met her that night and she had died by accident after they engaged in consensual sex.

The jury didn't believe his evidence and convicted him of murder.

Manuela was the only child of Hans Peter and Arlette Riedo, and both parents attended the trial. Afterwards, her father Hans Peter read out a victim impact statement in German which was translated for the court.

"You really can't put into words what the death of our beloved daughter Manuela has taken from us. You have robbed Manuela of 60 or 70 years of her life and taken the future away from us, her parents.

"I will never lead my daughter as a bride to the altar, and my wife will never knit baby clothes for a grandchild, and we won't have anyone to look after us when we are old," he said.

He told the court that Manuela's trip to Ireland – she arrived just two days before her murder – had been her first trip away from her parents on her own.

"Manuela was the centre of our lives and our sunshine," he said.

"We always looked out for Manuela very carefully. As her father, I often drove out with the car at night to pick her [up] so that she would arrive safely back home. No way was too long for me to bring her back.

"Her trip to Ireland was her first trip without us parents. Manuela would have soon turned 18 and we wanted to gradually let her discover the world on her own. We had heard only good things about Ireland and thus we had no misgivings about sending her to this beautiful country. Before she left, she said that she hoped to get through the two weeks without feeling homesick and that the trip would be a test for future long trips.

"We have lost our angel but we have gotten to know many fine people now," he said.

Barry showed no emotion when the verdict was read out or during the victim impact statement.

The court heard that he had a string of convictions. He had been involved in an incident in Galway city centre in July 1996, in which a young man had died. Barry had been convicted of violent disorder as a result and was sentenced to five years in prison.

He received a further prison sentence in 1998 for an assault on an elderly man during a break-in. The man had sight in only one eye at the time, and following the assault he lost sight in that eye also. Barry also had a conviction for sexual assault.

Sentencing him to life in prison, judge Barry White said he agreed completely with the jury's verdict, as, he was sure, all right-thinking people who had read the case would. He said he acknowledged that Barry had a difficult upbringing but he clearly had a record of violent behaviour.

Speaking afterwards, Hans Peter Riedo thanked everybody associated with the case. "This day is a good day, we have had a big wait for this day," he said. "We will come back to Ireland. We will return with a smile."

michael clifford, page 15