The arrest of a man as part of the investigation into the 1993 disappearance and murder of Annie McCarrick follows a period of intense activity in the inquiry in recent years. The search of a house in Dublin is also connected to developments during this time. Gardaí had long nominated a chief suspect in the case and they arrested him on Thursday morning.
The Irish Times understands the Garda investigation team decided to make the arrest and carry out the search based on new information it received.
Detectives had already spoken to the chief suspect several times in relation to the case. Ms McCarrick disappeared from south Dublin in March, 1993. Her case was upgraded two years ago, from a missing persons inquiry to a murder investigation. The suspect, who was well known to Ms McCarrick, forged a career in business since 1993 and accumulated significant wealth.
The arrest and the house search in Clondalkin are significant developments. They represent the latest phase in an investigation that has, in more recent years, been focused on the theory that a friend of the 26-year-old New Yorker killed her after a personal dispute. The arrested man has become the chief suspect, especially since the case was upgraded to a murder investigation two years ago.
Róis: ‘Moving away from Ireland shook me. Going away is essential’
Joe Canning on taking frees: ‘If I miss this, I’m f**ked. I’ll never live this down’
The Dirty Souls Letterkenny takeaway review: Low-and-slow tastes of the deep south in the northwest
Potential new names for the Department of Arts: Smacc, Cacs, Scam and – my favourite – DoSac
Detectives also spoke to a man close to the suspect in recent months. That interview was carried out abroad. The man is believed to have previously told detectives he was with the chief suspect during the weekend Ms McCarrick disappeared.
The suspect taken into custody on Thursday is the first person to be arrested in the 32-year inquiry. He was questioned on suspicion of murdering Ms McCarrick. He is in his 60s and does not usually live in Dublin. He was detained by members of the Dublin south central division’s serious crime unit based at Irishtown Garda station.
As he was being arrested, the property in Clondalkin was being sealed off for a search. The suspect was closely linked to the house at the time Ms McCarrick disappeared and she is believed to have stayed there at least once. The house was last sold about 15 years ago and gardaí stress that the current owners have no connection to the murder investigation.
Situated in a small estate, the home has been extensively renovated and extended by its current owners, with most of that work completed over a decade ago.
The arrested man knew Ms McCarrick from her time studying in Ireland. Following two years of living back in her hometown of New York, she returned to live in Ireland in January, 1993. Two months later, she disappeared from her rented apartment at St Catherine’s Court, Sandymount, Dublin 4.
The narrative around Ms McCarrick’s disappearance – based on claimed sightings by eyewitnesses – has always involved her travelling by bus from south Dublin to Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, on the day she went missing: Friday, March 26th, 1993. There were also reported sightings of her in Enniskerry village and at Johnnie Fox’s pub in Glencullen, in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains, about 6km from Enniskerry.
However, those details have effectively been put to one side and the investigation is now based on what may have happened in Sandymount. Gardaí believe Ms McCarrick was the victim of foul play at the hands of a man she knew well and that her body was then disposed of to conceal the crime.
Ms McCarrick had confided in her US-based friends that a man she had relations with in Dublin struck her in a drunken state. She told friends she believed he was harassing or stalking her.
Detectives believe the killing and disposal of her remains had probably taken place before she was reported missing on March 28th, 1993. That was about 48 hours after the last confirmed sighting of her, by her flatmates in Sandymount. Gardaí suspect she was killed, or at least met her murderer, in the area around her flat.
The reported sightings of Ms McCarrick in the Enniskerry and Glencullen areas now appear to have achieved nothing. They may have wasted vital time and led the initial investigation astray during the crucial period immediately after a murder, when killers are most likely to slip up.
