‘Those missing four hours were always a red flag for me' – retired detective explains how the Annie McCarrick case went awry
After 32 years of examining every possibility of who might have murdered American woman Annie McCarrick, gardaí have set their sights on one chief suspect.
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Irish Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Annie McCarrick suspect "arrested after his brother gave vital info to gardai"
Gardai decided to arrest the suspect for the murder of Annie McCarrick after his own brother gave them information on the case, sources have said. Three days after the suspect was released without charge, sources have told us information a brother living overseas gave to detectives was a main catalyst for Thursday's dramatic arrest. Sources tell us the brother, who has been experiencing serious health problems in recent years, voluntarily spoke to detectives who travelled to the country he is living in earlier this year. He gave a statement to detectives from Irishtown Garda Station – where the probe into the 1993 murder of the 26-year-old American is based. It's understood that the statement included details of the suspect's alibi for the day in March of that year that New York native Ms McCarrick was last seen in the Sandymount area of the city where she had a flat. Sources tell us the information weakened that alibi – and was one of the main reasons for the arrest. 'The brother did not rat him out, but what he said was important,' a source said. 'When it was analysed, it was decided that there was now a basis for the arrest.' The suspect, who is a millionaire businessman in his 60s, was arrested by gardai from Irishtown Station on Thursday morning – around the same time officers sealed off and took control of a house in Clondalkin, south west Dublin as part of the murder inquiry. Gardai stress the current residents of the house are not connected in anyway with Ms McCarrick, or the investigation into her murder. The suspect was detained for 24 hours before being released without charge on Friday afternoon. Gardai say the investigation is ongoing. That includes an invasive search around the house in Clondalkin. Sources tell us the search is likely to continue for several days. They added that the original house is not the centre of the Garda probe. Instead, Garda Technical Bureau experts as well as officers from Irishtown are concentrating on the garden area. Officers are investigating if Ms McCarrick's remains were buried there – many years before the current residents moved in. On Friday, gardai brought in PSNI cadaver dog Fern to carry out a search of the property. Fern is one of three cadaver dogs used by the PSNI that are occasionally lent to gardai as they don't have their own. The same dog found the remains of Tina Satchwell, 45, buried under the stairs of her home in Youghal, Co Cork in October 2023 – more than six years after she was last seen alive. Her husband Richard, 58, murdered her at the house in March 2017 – before burying her there. He was last month convicted of Tina's murder – and Fern played a key role in bringing him to justice. Satchwell is now serving a life sentence – and is likely to spend more than 20 years behind bars. Sources have told us that the McCarrick suspect knew her and had an infatuation with her before she disappeared in 1993. He has been interviewed by gardai at least twice – but as a witness and who had an alibi. But gardai always viewed him as a person of interest in the mystery and he became a suspect when the case was upgraded to murder in March 2023 – the 30th anniversary of her disappearance. The man knew Annie, had an infatuation with her and had allegedly stalked and assaulted her. He is believed to have moved in her social circles before the student and restaurant worker vanished. We revealed last week that gardai have now interviewed around 100 people who worked with or knew Ms McCarrick before her disappearance. Officers have again appealed for the public's help in solving the mystery of what happened to Ms McCarrick. Her case was treated as a missing person's inquiry until it was upgraded to murder. Investigators believe there are people out there who know what happened to Ms McCarrick – and may have been afraid to come forward in the past. The force said in a statement: 'An Garda Síochána appeal to anyone with information, no matter how small or insignificant that they might believe it to be, to contact the investigation team. 'Gardaí also appeal to anyone that may have previously come forward but who felt that they could not provide Gardaí with all of the relevant information they had in relation to this matter, to please make contact with An Garda Síochána again. 'With the passage of time they may now be in a position to speak further with the investigation team. 'Any information will be welcomed by the investigation team, and will be treated in the strictest confidence. 'The investigation team can be contacted at Irishtown Garda Station on 01 666 9600 or anyone who wishes to provide information confidentially should contact the Garda Confidential Line: 1800 666 111.'
The Irish Sun
6 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
Annie McCarrick family believe she was abducted & killed by ‘someone she knew' as cops probe ‘obsessed' man theory
THE family of murdered Annie McCarrick always believed she was abducted and killed by 'someone she knew', we can reveal. Investigators suspect 3 Annie McCarrick vanished from Sandymount in south Dublin in March 1993 Credit: Photocall Ireland 3 A man, 62, was interviewed by Gardai at the time of her disappearance, he was never arrested Credit: PA 3 Searches of the house in Clondalkin, Dublin were still going on this weekend Credit: GARY ASHE As searches continued over the weekend for One theory is that Although At the time, investigators accepted his alibis. Read more in News But after a review by detectives in Irishtown and the Serious Crime Review Team, he was formally arrested after concerns emerged about his alibis. One of the alibis being re-examined was provided by one of his relatives. One source said: 'The family, especially Annie's dad, always maintained that she was killed by someone she knew. 'Annie's best friend Linda raised these concerns with Gardai in 2022 when she came to Ireland. She was instrumental in the Gardai re-examining alibis from the time. Most read in Irish News 'This is now the main line of inquiry and the main focus is on the alibis provided at the time. Gardai 'committed to uncovering the truth' of Annie McCarrick's murder and disappearance 'The man arrested this week volunteered to come forward at the time so he was never under any real suspicion until now. 'It looks as if the case has started to unravel in recent months around the issue of the alibis.' And Despite the passage of time, the legal eagle is still hopeful of getting justice for Annie's loved ones. 'FALSE LEADS' He added: 'There have been so many false leads over the years I hope this latest development leads to some closure for the family. 'It may have taken 32 years for this development but the investigators must have had probable cause. 'It must have been someone who possessed a lot of anger that took Annie's life. 'We heard the man arrested was violent and I just hope that Annie is found and justice prevails in this ongoing investigation.' As revealed by The Irish Sun at the weekend, cops seized a number of electronic devices, including laptops and phones, at the suspect's home in ONGOING INVESTIGATION These have been sent for examination in a bid to glean any evidence from them. We also told how investigators will reinterview witnesses as they analyse discrepancies in the murder suspect's various alibis. The interviews are set to take place across the country where witnesses now live, over three decades on from the New Yorker vanishing from Sandymount in south One of Ireland's most infamous unsolved murder cases, it hit the headlines again last week when a home in Clondalkin, Dublin, was cordoned off by garda and forensic teams. Heavy machinery was moved in and the cadaver dog, Fern, who found Searches of the house in Clondalkin, Dublin were still going on today as investigators worked around the clock. The current owners of the property have nothing to do with the McCarrick case. The chief suspect was released without charge on Friday, accompanied by his solicitor, and he is understood to have returned to his home. Gardaí confirmed the man's release in a statement, where they also announced that searches were ongoing. The arrested man was quizzed over more than five separate alibis which the gardai are investigating for any possible contradictions. He made no admissions and is understood to have denied any involvement in Annie's disappearance.
Sunday World
7 hours ago
- Sunday World
Pill-popping granny turned loyalist terror boss dies in exile
Before she died last March, 75 year-old Muriel Gibson also a suspect in the murder of 61 year-old Sean Brown. An artist's impressiom of the suspect seen in Bellaghy. Portadown native Muriel Gibson - also known as Muriel Landry - passed away in the south of England three months ago, but details only emerged this week. First convicted of drugs offences 55 years ago, Gibson was also dubbed as 'Madame Defarge', after a character in the Charles Dickens novel 'Tale of Two Cities, known for her ruthless and vengeful behaviour. According to former loyalist friends, Gibson was fond of quoting Defarge's famous line justifying violent revenge: 'Vengeance and retribution require a long time; It is the rule.' And this week, loyalist insiders claimed deceased Mid-Ulster terror chiefs Billy Wright and Mark 'Swinger' Fulton, paid Gibson for intelligence on possible murder targets, by providing her with a constant supply of free ecstasy tablets. Muriel Gibson. News in 90 Seconds - 15th June 2025 'Muriel was hooked on ecstasy and alcohol and Billy and Swinger knew that. They had her out targeting people right across mid-Ulster and beyond. She set up people for murder and she was paid in alcohol and e-tabs.' a loyalist told us. Gibson was also a suspect in the murder of 61 year-old Sean Brown, who was abducted from outside Ballaghy GAA club and later shot dead near Randalstown in 1997. The shocking LVF killing, featured on a BBC Spotlight investigation which was broadcast on TV last Tuesday. Spotlight showed a police photofit sketch of a woman with a striking resemblance to Muriel Gibson. She was spotted in the driver's seat of a car parked outside the club, the night before Mr. Brown was murdered. Two men who were also in the vehicle, went to great lengths to make sure their faces were hidden from an eye-witness who was driving out the club gate. And it is believed the same witness, later picked out the woman at a police ID parade, just days after Mr. Brown was murdered. The eyewitness told Spotlight: 'I was the last one going out. Sean was still there to lock up.' he said. 'I just thought it was someone turning at the front of the club. The lady who was driving stared me straight in the face. There was two men and they were hiding their faces.' After Sean Brown's murder, the witness took his information to the RUC and he helped the police compile a photofit of the female driver. And he even picked her out at an ID parade made up of eight women. But no charges were ever brought. An artist's impressiom of the suspect seen in Bellaghy. Before she died last March, 75 year-old Muriel Gibson, was a hugely popular figure among the arty set in Cambourn, Cornwall, where she had settled after her release from prison in Northern Ireland. A talented painter in her own right, her art work was much sought after. As a young woman, Gibson had travelled to America, where she met and married William Landry, a native American. The couple had five children together. And in compliance with native American tradition, all were given exotic names. The girls were called Rain, Talutha and Aisha, while the boys were named, Mahatma and Oddysseus. Muriel Landry, as she became after she was married, was convicted and jailed in the United States for drugs offences. And on her release she came back to Portadown, settling in Brownstown Park, where she first made contact with Billy 'King Rat' Wright. Gibson is pictured here with a small parrot on her shoulder. It is believed to be the last known photograph of her taken shortly before she passed away. And in a Facebook post following her death in March, her daughter Rain Lluvia, invited friends to join the family in a celebration of her mother's life. . It read: 'After the sad passing of Muriel Gibson aka Fanny Adams, aka Paddy, Mum & Nanny. We invite all who knew her, to join us in celebrating her colourful life and enjoy her beautiful art works. Come as you are and raise a toast to an amazing woman.' But there was no mention of how, 20 years ago, - when Muriel Gibson was in her mid 50s - the mum of five was sent down for eight years, after she was convicted on a raft of loyalist terror charges. At the time, the Crown Court in Belfast heard how the former hippie played a central role in Billy 'King Rat' Wright's Loyalist Volunteer Force, following its split with the Ulster Volunteer Force in the mid-90s. In 1998, Gibson was narrowly acquitted of killing council worker Adrian Lamph in Portadown. But she was convicted of destroying crucial evidence and impeding the arrest and prosecution of Adrian's killers. Gibson was also convicted of LVF membership. The granny was handed an eight year sentence. Her co-accused Jim Fulton - who had seized control of the LVF following the deaths of Billy Wright in jail and Mark 'Swinger' Fulton to drugs - was convicted of directing the 1999 murder of Elizabeth O'Neill and a catalogue of 47 other loyalist terror crimes. Fulton was also convicted of possession of the gun which claimed the life of Catholic taxi driver Michael McGoldrick during the Drumcree dispute in 1996. Jailing Fulton for a minimum of 25 years, the judge remarked how he appeared determined to wipe out the entire Catholic population. Granny Muriel Gibson, then 57, had faced 11 charges, including the murder of Mr. Lamph and conspiring to cause explosions in the Republic of Ireland, all of which she denied. And although she was found not guilty of involvement in the Lamph murder, Gibson was found guilty of most other charges, including membership of the LVF. Last night, a former neighbour who knew Muriel Gibson from the time she grew up on Portadown's Brownstown estate, said: 'Muriel was just an ordinary girl. She had an interest in art and she was talented.' She added: 'But it just goes to show what can happen when addiction meets terrorism.'
