The Daily Star Ireland
Gardaí are continuing to interrogate a woman in connection with the murder of Kyran Durnin, a schoolboy who went missing earlier this year. Kyran, who would now be eight years old, was reported missing in August, but Gardaí believe he may have been killed as far back as two years ago.
The woman, in her 20s, had been abroad for a while but was arrested in Ireland yesterday on suspicion of murder. It is understood that she was acquainted with Kyran and had been considered a person of interest in the investigation for some time. Gardaí have previously spoken to her on multiple occasions.
She is currently being questioned at a Garda station in the northeastern part of the country under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act. She can be held for up to 24 hours before being either charged or released, though this detention period can be extended to allow her to rest.
In August, a missing persons report was filed at Drogheda Garda Station after Kyran was reported missing. He was said to have last been seen in the town two days earlier. However, as the investigation progressed, Gardaí uncovered information suggesting that Kyran had been missing for a longer period. It was later discovered that he had not been seen since May 2022, when he was a pupil at a local primary school in Dundalk.
The case was upgraded to a murder investigation in October. Gardaí found that Kyran had lived in a house in Dundalk for several years. They conducted searches at the house and the nearby open land as part of their inquiry. The current tenants of the property have been cleared of any connection to Kyran’s disappearance. The results of the three-day search were not disclosed for operational reasons.
The Child and Family Agency Tusla revealed that in August, it raised serious concerns about Kyran, although he was not in its care. Tusla had been engaged with Kyran and his family in the past and conducted an internal review of its interactions with them. While the agency has not made the review public, it has been shared with the Minister for Children, Roderic O’Gorman. A separate report related to Tusla’s Education Support Service has also been shared with Minister for Education, Norma Foley, and the National Review Panel, which independently reviews serious incidents involving children.
Gardaí have renewed their appeal for anyone with information related to Kyran’s disappearance and murder to come forward. They have asked the public to contact the Garda Investigation Team at Drogheda Garda Station, the Garda Confidential Line, or any member of An Garda Síochána with any information, no matter how small it may seem.
