Gardaí investigating the suspected murder of eight-year-old Kyran Durnin are working to determine if one of the main suspects left behind any vital information on the disappearance before his death this week.
On Tuesday, gardaí and emergency services found the body of Anthony Maguire (36) in his Drogheda home, six days after he was arrested in connection with Kyran’s disappearance.
Gardaí are not seeking anyone else in relation to Mr Maguire’s death and have described the incident as a “personal tragedy”.
Mr Maguire was one of two people arrested for questioning last week as part of the murder investigation. While Kyran was reported missing in August this year, detectives are working on the assumption he has been dead for two years and suspect he was murdered.
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Mr Maguire is believed to have had access to Kyran in the period before the last confirmed sighting of him as a six-year-old in the summer of 2022.
He was a close associate of another major suspect in the case.
The deceased was arrested last Thursday morning and held for questioning at Drogheda Garda station until Friday afternoon when he was released without charge. It is understood he said little of evidential value during multiple garda interviews.
At the same time, gardaí searched his home. A cadaver dog was brought in and small excavator was used to dig up the back garden. However, there were no signs of Kyran’s remains. Mr Maguire’s body was found in the same home which was the subject of the search.
The focus of gardaí is now on establishing if Mr Maguire left behind any vital information about the child’s death or the location of his remains. This may include notes, messages or conversations with family or friends.
Investigators are also likely to seek to reinterview people who knew Kyran and Mr Maguire and who may now be more willing to provide information.
Mr Maguire had a history of offending but had not been before the courts on any serious matter in recent years.
In 2010, he was prosecuting for punching a teenage girl during a melee in Drogheda. During the court hearing Mr Maguire, who was described as a 21-year-old unemployed man, shouted “Why the f***k are you lying? You lying bastard,” according to a court report from the time.
Judge Patrick Clyne said it was “patently obvious” the young man had anger management issues.
The same year, he was also fined for breaking a window at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda after a row with his girlfriend. The court heard he was receiving treatment at the time for a facial injury sustained in an assault by a group of youths.
In a statement on Tuesday, gardaí said they attended the scene along with emergency services following the discovery of a body.
“The local coroner has been notified and a postmortem examination will be arranged. The outcome of the postmortem will determine the course of the investigation,” a spokesperson said.
