As the community of Wicklow prepares for his release, Larry Murphy still refuses to speak to local police.
He will not reveal his plans for after his release from prison or aid with the investigations into the disappearance of six women in Leinster in the 1990s, including New Yorker, Annie McCarrick.
Murphy will be released on August 12 having served 10-years for the kidnapping and rape of a Carlow businesswoman. He is the prime suspect in three other cases of kidnapping and murder in the Wicklow area and another three in the Leinster region.
The suspected serial killer must provide the police with the address of where he will stay after his release but only has to check in with the police after seven days. The Irish police will have him under 24-hour surveillance to counteract any danger he might pose.
Gerry O’Neill, a local Sinn Fein representative, told the Evening Herald that he was being inundated with phone calls from concerned locals.
"Naturally you would be concerned, there is a big fear out there throughout West Wicklow…His release is the talk of the town. I've had many people from the community come to me to express their concerns.
"He's out early for being a good boy in prison and he has refused to seek counseling or treatment while he's in there, there is no sign of repentance or remorse in him."
Police in the area are doing everything they can to put the public’s mind at ease. However, they have still not been able to speak to Murphy in advance of his release.
“We have endeavored to speak with him from time to time but he has never spoken to us. We are aware of the situation and of his family in the area,” said Superintendent Eamon Keogh, of Baltinglass police station.
"We are taking measures here, which for operational reasons, we cannot go into," he said. "He is expected to comply with the Sex Offenders Act.
"If he moves out of the area he has to notify us and if he fails to do so then that is an offence. He has served his time. He is from this area but we have no indication as to where he intends to live.
"He has family here. He has to live somewhere and we have to abide by the law of the land."
Though he is expected to live in the area his brother, Thomas, has made it very clear that he will not be welcome in his family’s home. In an interview on RTE television he said that since the press published photographs of his home he had received numerous threats, including one to burn down his house.
He said “I want to make it clear to the locals in my local village in County Wicklow that Larry will not be living with me, my partner Helen and my kids.”
A group of police, called Operation Trace, have been investigating the disappearance of six women in Leinster during the 1990s.
They include Long Islander, Annie McCarrick and Irishwomen Deirdre Jacob and Jo Jo Dullard. The group has repeatedly tried to interview him but Murphy refuses to cooperate.
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