The bungled investigation became one of Ireland’s major police scandals and resulted in a formal State apology and the payment of damages to Kerry woman Joanne Hayes and her family. The remains of Baby John were discovered at White Strand, outside Cahersiveen, on April 14, 1984.Ī post-mortem examination revealed the five-day-old infant died following a horrific assault – and had suffered a total of 28 stab wounds and a fractured spine. Gardaí believe the new sample – obtained after the exhumation of Baby John from Holy Cross cemetery in Cahersiveen in 2021 and the examination at University Hospital Kerry – would deliver significant developments.įamilial DNA links have been instrumental in solving many cold cases across the UK, US and France over recent years. However, the old DNA sample taken from the infant was not of optimal quality for recent advances in high-tech genetic-fingerprint testing. Such DNA tests are now so sensitive they can deliver hits from relatives as distant as second cousins to people at the centre of the case.Īlmost 100 DNA samples have been collected from people in Kerry over the past three years in a bid to cross-match them with samples taken before Baby John was buried. Gardaí had been attempting to match DNA from the exhumed remains of Baby John in hopes it could help deliver a familial ‘hit’ that would help close the book on the 37-year-old mystery.ĭetectives had been the murder case would finally be solved not through a direct identification of the mother or father involved – but rather via a familial link or DNA match with a close relative of the parents of Baby John. "After all these years, Baby John deserves the truth.” We will have specially trained personnel available who are trained in dealing with difficult and sensitive issues in a compassionate and professional manner,” he said. "Anyone who comes forward will be treated with sensitivity. Even the smallest piece of information could be vital. We would ask anyone who was living in Cahersiveen and surrounding areas around the time of April 1984 to speak to us. He added: "Our strong belief at the current time is that the answers to this are in Cahersiveen and the close surrounding areas. On January 16, 2018, gardaí launched a review into the death of Baby John, whose body was found with multiple injuries on April 14, 1984. Anyone who comes forward will be treated with sensitivity and compassion,” said Superintendent Flor Murphy, who has been leading the investigation.Īnyone with information is asked to contact Killarney Garda Station (064) 667 1160 the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station. I am again appealing to the public for any information in relation to the death of Baby John in 1984. "The arrests are a significant development in this investigation in an effort to establish the truth surrounding the death of Baby John in 1984 and deliver justice for Baby John. The latest development follows an extensive investigation into the incident by the Garda Serious Crime Review team and gardaí from the Kerry division in which hundreds of people have been interviewed and more than 560 lines of enquiry have been followed. The bungled original investigation four decades ago became one of Ireland’s major police scandals and resulted in a formal State apology and the payment of damages to Kerry woman Joanne Hayes, who had had also given birth to a baby boy who died around the same time as Baby John. The arrests come almost 40 years after the discovery of the body of male infant known as Baby John at White Strand, Cahersiveen, Co Kerry, in April 1984. In a statement, the force said said the man and the woman “were arrested in the Munster region on suspicion of the offence of murder and are currently detained at Garda Stations in the south of the country under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984.” A man in his 60s and a woman in her 50s have been arrested in connection with the Kerry Babies case, gardaí confirmed this evening.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |