Latest news with #murderInvestigation
Irish Times
4 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
Fiona Pender murder investigation: Gardaí conclude search of Offaly bogland
Gardaí have concluded a search of bogland in Offaly as part of the Fiona Pender murder investigation. Gardaí confirmed that the search and excavation for the missing woman's remains on lands at Graigue, Killeigh, finished on Tuesday evening. The operation took place over two days, near Ms Pender's native Tullamore, Co Offaly, which is a relatively short period for such operations in historical homicide cases. However, Garda sources said the search and dig was never expected to take any longer than 48 hours. READ MORE Early on Monday, Garda Headquarters confirmed the search had begun, adding the Pender case had been upgraded from a missing persons inquiry to a murder investigation . Ms Pender, a 25-year-old hairdresser, she was last seen at her flat on Church Street, Tullamore, early in the morning of Friday, August 23rd, 1996. The man who was in a relationship with Ms Pender when she vanished had criticised the initial Garda investigation, including the fact he was arrested for questioning, and that a farm slurry tank and well had not been searched. John Thompson, who has lived in Canada for many years, told gardaí Ms Pender had been in the flat when he left for work that morning. Despite a very significant search operation, including large sections of the Grand Canal being drained, no trace of Ms Pender has ever been found. She was seven months pregnant at the time and when she vanished a major Garda investigation got under way within days. Mr Thompson, who was the father of Ms Pender's unborn child, was angered by the fact gardaí appeared to base some of their investigation into her disappearance on a theory that he was somehow involved. 'It is just not good enough for them to suggest that we disposed of her and then leave it at that,' Mr Thompson, then aged 24 years, said in an interview with The Irish Times in August 1997 , a year after the disappearance, adding he took a 'dim view' of the fact he had been arrested. Mr Thompson spoke to The Irish Times four months after he had been arrested for questioning about the case, on suspicion of withholding information. He was one of five people – two men and three women – arrested at the same time in the Laois-Offaly region. They were all released without charge and none of them has been rearrested in the intervening 28 years. Despite the investigation into Ms Pender's disappearance having continued since 1996, and now being upgraded to a murder inquiry, no further arrests have ever been made. In his interview, Mr Thompson insisted gardaí had moved too slowly to begin their search when Ms Pender, who he was living with at the time, went missing. He said he did not want to be seen 'to be giving the guards the fingers... but the fact remains that she is still missing'. [ Fiona Pender murder: Can fresh searches unlock a case 29 years later? Opens in new window ] He pointed out that the slurry tank on his family farm had not been searched and that other locations had also not been checked. 'They [gardaí] will tell you that they searched high and low, but they did two searches on this farm and there is a well outside the door, and it was never searched. At the end of the day, Fiona is out there somewhere and it is their job to find her. I just want to highlight the fact that she is still missing.' He added that when he was arrested in April 1997, gardaí had no evidence to suggest he was involved in Ms Pender's disappearance, and he took a 'dim view' of the arrests made. Mr Thompson said at the time he was 'hopeful' that Ms Pender and their child, who would have been 10 months old in August 1997, were still alive. He found it hard to believe Ms Pender could disappear from a busy town like Tullamore and for the matter to remain unexplained. 'I feel that someone might have seen something, but is afraid,' he said. The Thompson family are farmers from a Church of Ireland background and Ms Pender's family are Catholics who lived on the Connolly Park local authority estate in Tullamore. Much was made of the different backgrounds they were from and that the Thompson family did not approve of the relationship. But Mr Thompson told The Irish Times that theory was 'not even worthy of comment... But I deny it.' He added: 'We are not bigots and nor are the Pender family.'
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Yahoo
‘Dateline' reveals new evidence in University of Idaho murder case
(NBC) — On Friday, 'Dateline' will air a two-hour special on the case that has captivated the country since that tragic night more than two years ago — the University of Idaho murder investigation. The program will reveal new details that have never been reported before, including video, photographic and digital evidence that investigators say track murder suspect Bryan Kohberger's movements. The show will include interviews with friends of the victims and former students, who open up for the first time about their interactions with the accused killer. Here is a preview of Keith Morrison's report: Moscow, Idaho, where Maddie Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernoodle and Ethan Chapin were murdered in November 2022. All four had been stabbed to death. With the trial of accused killer Bryan Kohberger now just 12 weeks away, it's the crime no one can forget. In the two years since our last report, we have learned things — heard and seen things from sources with direct knowledge of the evidence, sources we trust and reported here for the first time. What happened in that house? Why four victims, why any? How will attorneys defend Bryan Kohberger, with the death penalty hanging over his head? One terrible, terrible night, in a small college town. Watch 'Dateline: The Terrible Night on King Road' Friday at 9 p.m. on NBC4. 'Dateline NBC' is the longest-running series in NBC primetime history and is in its 33rd season. Dateline is anchored by Lester Holt and features correspondents Blayne Alexander, Andrea Canning, Josh Mankiewicz, Keith Morrison and Dennis Murphy. The stories range from compelling mysteries to powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. When major news breaks, they go to the scene, putting the pieces together to bring the viewer the full picture. And in every story they tell, they help the real people who lived the events share their journeys with the viewer. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
BBC News
08-05-2025
- BBC News
Mumtaz Member 'unlawfully killed' at home as death remains unsolved
A mum who was found dead in her family home almost a decade ago was "unlawfully killed" a coroner has ruled - but her death remains "unresolved". Mumtaz Member, 56, was found with excessive injuries to her head, face and neck in a bedroom of her home in Stoneygate, Leicester, on 12 December 2015. Leicestershire Police launched a murder investigation at the time, leading to murder charges against her two sons and daughter-in-law, which were later a seven-day inquest at Leicester Coroner's Court, senior coroner Professor Catherine Mason said "on the balance of probabilities, Mumtaz was killed by a person or persons unidentified". Mrs Member's sons Mohammed and Shafiq and Shafiq's wife Fatima, were all charged with murder, but the charges were dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service in February 2016 due to "insufficient evidence". The inquest was a finding of fact to determine how Mrs Member came about her death, not to find fault. Mrs Member's family has always maintained that she was killed not by her children but by an intruder and said Mohammed, Shafiq and Fatima "should never have been charged in the first place". This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
