 Judge Lynch found that Joanne Hayes killed the baby on the farm by choking it to stop it crying, in spite of state pathologist Dr John Harbison being unable to determine the cause of death.Judge Lynch rejected claims by the Hayes family that they had been assaulted by Gardaí, or that the confessions were obtained through coercion.Joanne Hayes had claimed that Gardaí slapped, threatened, and coerced her into making a false confession, and other family members had alleged that Gardaí used harassment and physical intimidation to get false confessions.