Gardaí investigating the murder of Kyran Durnin were dealt a "huge blow" with the sudden death of one of the prime suspects in the disappearance of the child.
Anthony Maguire, 36, died at his home on Tuesday just days after being released without charge by gardaí.
He had been arrested on suspicion of the Louth child’s murder. While he left notes at the scene of his death in Drogheda, they have not yielded any additional information for gardaí.
Maguire was seen by gardaí as the potential "weak link" and the person most likely to crack and tell them what they needed to know. While officers have no evidence to suggest that Kyran died at Maguire’s hands, he was suspected of having masterminded bringing a ‘decoy child’ to meetings with Tusla in a bid to conceal Kyran’s death.
"There has been a wall of silence"
Security sources familiar with the investigation told the Irish Daily Mail: "There’s a real sense of concern among gardaí about what Maguire has taken to his own grave. There are several other key suspects still alive but he was seen as someone who may have turned on the others and given the information that gardaí needed to find the child’s body. The notes left by Maguire haven’t helped gardaí with the investigation either.
"There has been a wall of silence from the other suspects in this case so it’s easy for them to turn around now and say 'it was all Maguire. We had nothing to do with it. We were afraid,'" the source said.
Maguire was given an 18-month suspended sentence in 2020 after he pleaded guilty to assaulting a woman in 2017.
Around a decade previously, at age 20, he was also before the courts for punching a teenage girl in the face.
Last Thursday, Maguire was arrested, which coincided with forensic searches taking place at two homes in Drogheda. He made no admissions during this time and denied any link to Kyran’s disappearance.
Regarding the searches, gardaí said that the aim of the operation was to find evidence that might reveal where Kyran is or what happened to him. The search concluded the following day and Maguire was subsequently released without charge.
"Huge blow"
Gardaí confirmed their searches revealed nothing of consequence, but they plan to conduct more searches as the investigation continues.
Kyran was reported missing from his grandmother’s home in Drogheda at the end of August. However, it has since emerged that gardaí believe him to have been missing for considerably longer than that and suspect he could have died as far back as two years ago.
Security sources told the Mail they believe Kyran’s murder was covered up by a "group of people known to him."
* This article was originally published on Extra.ie.
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