Gardaí have identified a man charged with falsely applying for two Irish passports in the name of dead infants as a 72-year-old American following inquiries with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States.
When the case of Philip Morris was called at Cork District Court on Tuesday, Sgt Pat Lyons applied to have the name on the charge changed from Philip Morris to Randolph Parker and he called Det Garda Padraic Hanley of the Garda National Bureau of Crime Investigation to explain why.
Det Garda Hanley said gardaí had established from inquiries with the FBI and the forwarding of fingerprint samples taken from the accused that he is Randolph Kirk Parker, a US citizen born on March 7th, 1951 after the FBI got a match with Mr Parker’s fingerprints on their files following an arrest in 1970.
Mr Parker, who appeared in court by video link, was first charged in September with two offences that he provided false information in relation to a passport application on a date between September 12th and 25th, 2012 and again on June 7th, 2022 at the Passport Office, South Mall, Cork.
The particulars of the charges state that the accused provided information for the issue of a passport which were false or misleading in a material respect and which he knew or believed were false or misleading or were reckless as to whether they were false or misleading.
And then in October, Mr Parker was charged with a third offence that he provided false or misleading information or documents at the Cork Passport Office on September 11th, 2023 when he allegedly applied for a passport in the name of Geoffrey Warbrook.
Det Garda Hanley previously told the court that gardaí had established from inquiries where they spoke to relatives of both named persons that both Philip Morris and Geoffrey Warbrook died in 1952 and 1953 when they were both infants.
And he also told previous court sittings that Mr Parker, who is balding and wears a white beard and speaks with an American accent, had declined to identify himself when he was interviewed by gardaí after his arrest at the Cork Passport Office on the South Mall.
On Tuesday at Cork District Court, Sgt Lyons said now that the hurdle of identification had been cleared the state was seeking a four-week remand to allow continue to investigate the offences with a view to preparing a full file for the DPP and obtaining her instructions on the matter.
Defence solicitor Frank Buttimer said his client was happy to acknowledge that he was Randolph Kirk Parker with a date of birth of March 7th, 1951, as stated by Det Garda Hanley, and now that his identity had been confirmed, he hoped progress could be made in obtaining the DPP’s directions.
Mr Buttimer said that his client was consenting to a four-week remand in custody and Judge Mary Dorgan granted the state application for the four-week adjournment. She remanded the accused in continuing custody to appear again at Cork District Court on December 5th by video link.
