Gardaí investigating if Michael Gaine was killed elsewhere

Extra.ie​

25-05-2025

Gardaí are investigating if Michael Gaine was murdered at a different location before his dismembered remains were stuffed into a slurry tank running beneath his farm.
It comes as a leading forensic expert this weekend warned it may not be possible to get evidence linking the killer to the Kerry farmer's remains.
Partial human remains, believed to be those of the missing man, were found last week in a field where slurry was spread on Mr Gaine's farm. Forensic Gardai continue their examination of silage bales on the farm of Mike Gaine near Kenmare, County Kerry, on Wednesday. Pic: Don MacMonagle ,
Sources familiar with the investigation said detectives are investigating whether Mr Gaine's killer strategically parked the jeep near the slurry tank where the farmer's remains were found last weekend, almost two months after he was first reported missing.
One source told Extra.ie: 'The jeep wasn't parked where it was normally parked when it was at that location. The handbrake was also pulled up harder than was normal for Michael Gaine.
'One line of enquiry was whether or not the farmer was killed at the location his jeep was found, or elsewhere.' Michael Gaine. Pic: An Garda Síochána Missing Persons
Detectives suspect a chainsaw may have been used to dismember the Kerry farmer's body after he was murdered.
A chainsaw that had been previously unaccounted for was found by search teams earlier this week.
Forensic examinations at the Kenmare farmyard are currently focused on a slatted shed – an animal housing unit with a slatted floor to facilitate waste management. Slurry tanks at the scene in Carrig East, Kenmare, where gardaí are investigating the disappearance of Kerry farmer Michael Gaine. Pic: Noel Sweeney/PA Wire
The slurry tank on Mr Gaine's farm is underneath this shed, and detectives are investigating whether the killer 'lifted that to throw him in the tank'.
A source told Extra.ie: 'They'd previously been focused on the cover side. But that has shifted now to the slatted unit.'
A retired Garda forensic expert yesterday said that, while the investigation team will 'hope' to find crucial evidence from the slurry tank and the partial remains found last weekend, they cannot 'expect' it. Gardaí at the scene in Carrig East, Kenmare, investigating the disappearance of Kerry farmer Michael Gaine. Pic: Noel Sweeney/PA Wire
John Sweetman – author of Murder, Fraud And The Making Of A Garda Forensic Expert, who worked on some of the State's most notorious murders – told Extra.ie: 'I would imagine the investigating guards have a fair idea of what went on and they have to find the evidence to support that.'
'They will get DNA to determine it is him [Mr Gaine] and they will be able to determine that [how he was cut up] from markings to the bone,' he said.
Mr Sweetman said gardaí may also be able to tell how the popular farmer died. Flowers and tributes were left at the entrance to the farm of Michael Gaine in Carrig East, Kenmare, Co Kerry. Pic: Gráinne Ní Aodha/PA Wire
'They will still be able to garner some evidence from the bones. A cause of death is possible, but it depends if they found the entire body or not.'
But the former detective, who was attached to the Garda Technical Bureau for more than 25 years, said it will be more difficult to link any evidence to the killer, as the slurry in the tank will have 'accelerated decomposition'.
He explained: 'If they did find the hand, it's possible [it] wouldn't be in a state to be fingerprinted. You'd think [for] a guy that size [Michael Gaine was 5ft 10'] to be overpowered, you would be thinking along the lines of some sort of trauma.
'Very often when you're dealing with a decomposed body or dismembered body, bones tell an awful lot. If a sharp object was used, there may be markings on the bones or the ribs.
'It all depends on the condition of the body. But it is amazing what pathologists can do even after an extended period of time.'
Mr Sweetman said it is very difficult for a killer to leave no forensic trace. He told Extra.ie: 'It is hard to leave no trace, but I remember on the Scissor Sisters case, when they searched it [the house], there was only very small amounts.
'They had done a very good clean of it with bleach. Since then, there have been so many advancements, especially with poly lights, and you can make blood stand out more.
'Blood doesn't fluoresce, so if you can fluoresce everything else around you can see it. If he was killed outdoors, the scene would have been exposed to the elements [making preservation of evidence harder].
'If [he was killed] inside, you'd expect to find something.'
He said that, if Mr Gaine's jeep was driven by his killer, fingerprints or fibre from clothes could also be found.
'You might not get anything [fingerprints] if it was dirty or very greasy and grimy. Then they'd be looking for anything else, like blood or body fluids or fibres. Fibres can be very important.'
Following the shock discovery of Michael Gaine's suspected remains last weekend, a man in his 50s was arrested on suspicion of the farmer's murder, but was released without charge on Monday night.
The man, who was arrested last Sunday, was questioned for the maximum of 24 hours at Killarney garda station.
Extra.ie understands the suspect, who is not Irish, is subject to deportation proceedings. The Minister for Justice and Equality has the power to issue a deportation order against any non-EEA national who is in the State without lawful permission.
It's unclear whether or not an order was made for him to leave the State, but it is understood he was in communication with the Department of Justice before the murder of Michael Gaine.
Mr Gaine, a 56-year-old sheep farmer with land near Kenmare, Co. Kerry, was reported missing from his home more than eight weeks ago.
His farm at Carraig East was declared a crime scene over the weekend after the partial remains were discovered on his farm.
A family member was spreading the slurry drawn from a tank in the farmyard on Friday evening when the spraying pipe became blocked.
When he went to clear the pipe, the relative discovered human remains and notified gardaí. Gardaí had previously searched both slurry tanks on Mr Gaine's farm.
Most of the material was drained from both tanks at the time, but nothing of evidential value was found.