Michael Gaine murder: Ex-partner of suspect Michael Kelley says he became ‘very unstable' after 9/11 attacks
A former partner of the American man questioned about the murder of Kerry farmer Michael Gaine expressed serious concern about his mental wellbeing and increasing paranoia after the 9/11 attacks in the US.
American woman Alicia Snow was involved in a relationship with Michael Kelley in the late 1990s and early 2000s and has two children with him.
Ms Snow told The Irish Times that Mr Kelley (53) suddenly became 'very unstable' and increasingly paranoid after the September 11th, 2001 al-Qaeda attacks and began stockpiling supplies during their time together in Maine.
She described the change in him as 'a total reversal to me'. Within three months, Ms Snow and her children moved out of the home they shared near the town of Swanville. They later separated and became estranged.
READ MORE
Mr Kelley, who moved to Kerry from the north-eastern US state of Maine about seven years ago, was arrested on May 18th last by gardaí investigating the murder of Mr Gaine (56) before being released without charge.
Kerry farmer Michael Gaine who went missing in March and whose partial remains were discovered on his farmland last month.
Mr Gaine's dismembered body was found the previous day in slurry spread on fields and in a slurry tank at his isolated farmyard 6km from Kenmare. He was last seen alive in a local shop in the town on March 20th.
Mr Kelley lived and worked on Mr Gaine's farm. He has denied any role in his murder, claiming he is being framed by organised criminals.
Gardaí investigating the murder of Mr Gaine
travelled to Maine last weekend to interview Ms Snow
and to search for any clues to explain what might have happened to the farmer.
Ms Snow described her former partner as 'hardworking' and 'responsible'
during their time living together on his mother's farm in Swanville. Mr Kelley worked as a farmhand on a nearby farm among a variety of other jobs, including as a cook and a butcher in a local shop.
She said her then partner's increasing paranoia after the 2001 attacks 'surprised the hell out of me'.
Alicia Snow, a nurse based in Maine in the United States and the former partner of Michael Kelley. Photograph via Ms Snow's website.
Ms Snow, who is a qualified nurse, said Mr Kelley could be very sweet and was notably loyal but that he went through 'bouts of intense paranoia'.
Others who knew him in Waldo County, where he lived in Maine, recalled his interest in conspiracy theories, including his fears about the Ku Klux Klan, the white supremacist group, and other groups of interest to conspiracy theorists.
Mr Kelley previously claimed to The Irish Times that he fled to and applied for asylum in Ireland as he feared he was being targeted by the KKK.
Ms Snow last spoke to Mr Kelley about 10 years ago when he came to her door saying a group called the Heaven and Earth Society were pursuing him.
The Irish Times put her concerns about Mr Kelley to him in an interview this week in Tralee, where he is now living.
Asked about his former partner's belief that he may struggle with mental illness, Mr Kelley said he would leave people to make up their own minds.
'People need to judge for themselves; they need to judge from their own observations,' he said.
Michael Kelley photographed in Tralee this week.
Photo: Domnick Walsh © Eye Focus Ltd
Asked about what those in Waldo County had said about his beliefs in conspiracy theories, Mr Kelley said people should decide for themselves.
'People need to judge for themselves – that's the blanket answer for all these things people are saying about me,' he said.
Following the couple's separation, Mr Kelley and Ms Snow were involved in a legal dispute over rights of access to their children.
A US judge concluded that Mr Kelley made 'false accusations' claiming Ms Snow was 'a witch' and 'practises witchcraft on their children'. The judge also found that Mr Kelley's ability to determine fact from fiction was 'questionable'.
In his interview with this newspaper, Mr Kelley gave more detail about how he came to work on Mr Gaine's farm.
He declined to answer any questions about the Garda investigation into the murder or his relationship with Mr Gaine as he said it might affect the investigation.
He said Mr Gaine offered him board and lodging at the old Gaine family farmhouse in return for doing farm work.
Members of the Garda forensic team carrying out a search at the farm of Michael Gaine (56) near Kenmare last month. Photo: Domnick Walsh © Eye Focus Ltd
The American said he began working for Mr Gaine after he approached a number of farmers in the Kenmare area on New Year's Day 2022 looking for farm work, having spent more than a year living in a camp at Scully's Wood near Dromquinna outside Kenmare.
He said he moved to Kerry after he applied for asylum in Dublin and was transferred to Killarney where he lived with other men in accommodation provided by the State's International Protection Accommodation Service.
He later left there and camped in Killarney National Park before he was ordered to leave by National Parks and Wildlife Service rangers.
Mr Kelley did a variety of casual jobs in Co Kerry, harvesting seaweed in Kenmare Bay for a man from Glenbeigh and cutting grass at an adventure centre at Blackwater.
Before moving to Mr Gaine's old farmhouse, Mr Kelley set up a camp at Scully's Wood and bought a solar panel and battery to charge his headlamp and mobile phone. He spent much of the Covid pandemic living in the wood before deciding on New Year's Day 2022 to look for farm work.
He said he convinced Mr Gaine to give him a job after he repaired Mr Gaine's quad bike and he moved into the old farmhouse.
Michael Kelley photographed in Tralee Town Park this week. Photo: Domnick Walsh © Eye Focus Ltd
Mr Gaine paid him €100 a week to help with the farm work, including repairing machinery, bringing fodder to cattle and fetching sheep from the mountain. He brought him into Kenmare once a week to buy supplies.
Mr Kelley said the money was 'more than enough for me to live on and I was actually able to save money'.
The old farmhouse had no electricity but it had a stove. He described it as 'a serious upgrade on living in the woods'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
36 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Ex-FF councillor harassed waitress at work, stared in window of restaurant and kissed hand, court told
A young waitress was harassed at work by a former councillor who told her she was the 'prettiest girl' he had ever seen, kissed her hand, tried to get her phone number and stared at her both in the restaurant and through the window outside, a court has heard. Joseph O'Donovan, formerly known as Gary O'Flynn, appeared before Cork District Court on Friday, having previously pleaded guilty to one count of harassment. Sgt John Kelleher told the court that Mr O'Donovan (49), a former Fianna Fáil councillor, went to a restaurant in Cork City on July 30th, 2022. He stayed for two hours during which time he was drinking wine. He flagged down a 25-year-old waitress and kissed her on the hand telling her she was 'the nicest and prettiest girl he had ever seen.' He continued to engage the woman in conversation while in the restaurant. His behaviour made her deeply uneasy, the court heard. READ MORE Mr O'Donovan of Melvindale House, Coolowen in Blarney, Co Cork returned to the restaurant on August 1st, 2022. Sgt Kelleher said Mr O'Donovan wanted to be served by the same waitress. The waitress felt he was continuously staring in her direction. He again took her hand and kissed it. He breathed in to her ear and said: 'Meet me outside for a tip and I better get your phone number for it'. The court heard Mr O'Donovan then went outside and started staring in the window. Sgt Kelleher said the waitress went out, told the accused he wasn't welcome and should leave. 'He [Mr O'Donovan] went back in again and asked [the waitress] could he see her again. He was asked to leave by management. He threw a €50 note at the waitress.' Mr O'Donovan returned to the restaurant on August 6th, 2022 at around 10.30pm when the premises was near closing. The waitress told him to leave and Mr O'Donovan said he was 'sorry' and he 'couldn't help it'. He was arrested later that month. He claimed he had carried out the gesture out of politeness and courtesy. He said he thought his interactions with the woman were 'congenial' . He insisted he was very sorry for what had occurred. Sgt Kelleher detailed the accused's 26 previous convictions. He said the most serious involved Mr O'Donovan soliciting a person to murder three people, one of whom was a Garda. The young woman who was harassed by Mr O'Donovan opted to give her own victim impact statement. 'For three years I have never stopped looking over my shoulder when I heard steps behind me,' she said. 'This man [O'Donovan] looked me in the eye and called himself a creep. This man looked me in the eyes and called himself a stalker. Then laughed about it.' She said the accused felt his 'desire' outweighed her right to say 'no.' 'He ignored every boundary and pushed further each time. It wasn't harmless. It was obsessive and it left me terrified in places that I used to feel safe.' She added she would never forget Mr O'Donovan's 'stares, his weird comments or the way he would linger and wait.' Judge Mary Dorgan remanded Mr O'Donovan on bail until October 3rd next when sentencing will be finalised. Mr O'Donovan is the son of former TD, Noel O'Flynn.
Irish Times
38 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Man stabbed partner in face and chest in child's bedroom, court hears
A man stabbed his partner in the chest and face while holding her down in their child's bedroom, causing near-fatal injuries and leaving her permanently disfigured, a court has heard. The Dublin man (49), who cannot be named to protect the identity of the children involved, was found guilty by a jury of assault causing serious harm to his then partner at their home on October 20th, 2022. He was also found guilty of assault causing harm to her and two counts of producing a knife following a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court trial last month. On the first day of the trial he pleaded guilty to one count of assault causing harm to his stepdaughter on the same date. Sentencing him to 10 years in prison on Friday, Judge Patricia Ryan said the existing relationship of trust between the accused and the injured parties was an aggravating factor under domestic violence legislation. READ MORE She said there is additional psychological harm caused as a result of offending behaviour at the hands of someone in a relationship of trust. The judge noted in mitigation character references from the man's family, including from his mother and a former partner. She took into account his co-operation with the investigation. She sentenced him to 10 years, backdated to 2022 when he went into custody. A local detective garda said that on the day in question, the man attacked his partner without warning. He dragged her by the hair, punched and kicked her before she ran into her child's bedroom, and he went to the kitchen and grabbed a knife. He then followed her into the bedroom, pinned her down and attempted to slit her throat, the court heard. She moved her head, and he sliced her cheek before stabbing her twice in the chest. The man then went into his stepdaughter's bedroom and attempted to stab her but she managed to get out of the way with just a scratch to her neck. Neighbours rang emergency services. Some of them who gave evidence at the trial described seeing the woman covered in blood. At one point, the man led his son out of the complex, but he returned with him a short while later and was arrested by gardaí. The woman spent four days in hospital. She suffered a permanent disfigurement to her face, while her chest wounds were described by her doctor as being 'potentially fatal'. The man gave evidence at trial and denied carrying out the attacks. Paul Murray, defending, asked the court to take into account his client's lack of previous convictions and good work history. He said he was not in a position to say his client accepts the verdict of the jury.
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
RTÉ HR manager denies newsroom worker had to ‘misrepresent himself to Revenue' to get shifts with broadcaster
A senior human resources manager at RTÉ has denied at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) that it got a media worker to 'misrepresent his employment status' to the taxman to get shifts in its newsroom. The worker, Joseph Kelly, claims he was denied the statutory entitlements to paid leave and Sunday premium pay that would normally accrue to an employee while he was engaged by the broadcaster under a 'freelance' contract between 2012 and 2018. The State broadcaster, however, argues that Mr Kelly was paid all Sunday premiums owed, along with annual leave and public holidays. RTÉ was found liable for a €36,000 bill for the period by the Department of Social Protection after it ruled in 2022 that Mr Kelly had been employed since 2012. READ MORE However, it maintains the ruling only pertains to insurability of employment and that the claims are out of time. Questioned repeatedly about Mr Kelly's status at a hearing on Thursday, a senior human resources manager at RTÉ said: 'We absolutely accept the insurability decision. The reality was that the contract Joseph signed was a sole trader agreement. I can't rewrite history, that's what it was.' The WRC was hearing evidence in complaints brought under the Organisation of Working Time Act 2005 and the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 by Mr Kelly. Mr Kelly's representative, Martin McMahon, said the Department's Scope ruling showed his client 'should have been treated as an employee' by RTÉ since 2012, and it therefore followed that he had been denied various pay-related statutory rights set out in his complaints. IATA Director General Willie Walsh on airline profits, air fares and why the Dublin Airport passenger cap makes Ireland a laughing stock Listen | 35:56 Mr Kelly claims he was denied the entitlement to paid annual leave, not paid for public holidays, and did not receive a premium for Sunday work from 2012 to 2018. He further alleges he was not provided with a statement of his core terms of employment. Giving evidence on Thursday, Mr Kelly said: 'The way I was brought in was by word of mouth. My name was given to a guy, I was brought in, talked to a manager, it was a casual interview. When I was coming in, HR said I had to be a sole trader, so I became a sole trader,' he said. Mr Kelly said his job at that time in the broadcaster's media ingest department from 2012 to 2018 was to 'cover the guys in the room' – all of whom were RTÉ employees – and to do 'whatever was needed of me'. It was a 'high-pressure role' where Mr Kelly and his co-workers received and organised multimedia material and recorded news feeds from across the world in preparation for news broadcasts, the complainant said. 'I wouldn't have received time off. It's famine or feast – you might have a month where you might get two days; you might have a month where you only get two days off,' Mr Kelly told the hearing. This situation continued from 2012 to 2018, when the ingest room manager 'got a promotion' and an employee 'moved up' into the management position, leaving an open vacancy, whereupon he 'became staff', Mr Kelly said. He told the WRC that due to the fact he was self employed, he 'wasn't allowed' to apply for internal jobs. Having received a staff contract, he later secured a more senior position as a newsroom co-ordinator in 2023, he said. He also said he believed he should have got incremental pay rises and could have advanced to a more senior role more quickly if he had access to internal staff competitions and that he 'should be on a higher rate than I'm on now'. Addressing Mr Kelly's current contract in cross-examination, RTÉ's solicitor, Seamus Given of Arthur Cox, put it to the complainant that he was on point 12 of a 14-point salary scale in his current role, after 11 years' service. 'I'm putting it to you are correctly positioned,' Mr Given said. 'Well, I would say no,' Mr Kelly said. Angela McEvoy, a senior HR manager at RTÉ, gave evidence that in that period Kelly was paid all Sunday premium owed, along with annual leave and public holidays, referring to a payroll report submitted by the broadcaster. Questioning Ms McEvoy, Mr McMahon said: 'Joseph was an employee of RTÉ from 2012 to 2018, that's the legal position, uncontested by RTÉ. Joseph's increments would be different if RTÉ accepted all those years of service, yes or no?' 'No, we're saying not, because Mr Kelly is on point 12 of the salary scale, that is obviously close to the top of the salary scale,' Ms McEvoy said. Asked whether RTÉ informed Mr Kelly that he had been 'misclassified as self-employed' when he was first put on an employment contract in 2018, Ms McEvoy said: 'No, because there was no need to do that. There was no need to inform Mr Kelly of anything like that.' 'Joseph was offered employment in RTÉ, but legally Joseph had been an employee from 2012, do you accept that?' Mr McMahon said. 'No I don't,' Ms McMahon said. 'You've accepted it in Social Welfare, why won't you accept it here?' Mr McMahon asked. 'What RTÉ accepted is a PRSI insurability decision going back to 2012,' the witness said. Mr McMahon continued to press Ms McEvoy on this point for some time and received the same answer. She said at one stage: 'You're saying there's a contract of employment. We absolutely accept an insurability decision. The reality was that the contract Joseph signed was a sole trader agreement. I can't rewrite history, that's what it was,' she said. Addressing the contract for services signed by Mr Kelly in 2012, Mr McMahon put it to her that RTÉ 'has the power in that situation' and that there was 'no negotiation' of its terms. 'I don't accept what you're saying. There is a choice for an individual to sign or not. Nobody is forced to sign,' she said. She agreed that it was a term of the contract that a worker 'had to be registered as self-employed in order to access a self-employment agreement' with RTÉ at that time. Mr McMahon said it was an offence to 'procure an employee to misrepresent themselves to the Revenue Commissioners'. 'In the contract, black and white, [it states] RTÉ has to receive written confirmation from the Revenue Commissioners that Joseph can be treated as self-employed for tax purposes,' Mr McMahon said. 'Do you accept RTÉ did procure Joseph to misrepresent himself to Revenue?' Mr McMahon said. 'Absolutely not,' Ms McEvoy said. Adjudication officer John Harraghy has concluded his hearings into the matter and will issue his decision in writing to the parties in due course.
