Gardaí set to launch murder probe pending autopsy results of remains found in Cork
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Gardaí are poised to launch a murder investigation pending the results of a post-mortem on severely decomposed remains found dumped in a roadside ditch in East Cork during searches for missing man Kieran Quilligan.
Dental records will be required to help formally identify the partially skeletal remains found in scrub just a few yards off the main Midleton to Whitegate road, close to Whitewell Cross about 3km south of Saleen village, just after midday.
The remains were found by a garda and a sniffer dog who were involved in ongoing searches as part of the missing persons investigation into the disappearance of Mr Quilligan, 47, in Cork City on September 1 last.
The search of that area was intelligence-led, backed by an extensive trawl of hundreds of hours of CCTV footage by the investigation team, overseen by Detective Superintendent Michael Comyns.
Mr Quilligan was last seen wearing an orange T-shirt, blue Under Armour tracksuit pants, and black Nike runners, and he had a large tattoo on the side of his head.
It is hoped that any surviving fragments of clothing, and the fact that he had a distinctive tattoo, could also help in the identification process. Members of his family are being kept informed of developments.
Mr Quilligan, who was originally from Bakers Road in Gurranabraher, left his accommodation at Cork Simon’s emergency shelter on Anderson’s Quay at 8.30pm on September 1 last in the company of another man.
Gardaí have been able to establish that he then proceeded to Sullivan’s Quay and on to Proby’s Quay near St Fin Barre’s Cathedral.
He was last seen alive on CCTV footage at St Finbarr’s Place, near the cathedral, at around 9.15pm that night.
An examination of CCTV footage from the area has established that he went up the steps at St Finbarr’s Place but there is no sighting of him exiting the steps at the top of St Finbarr’s Place on to Fort Street.
Following an initial investigation into the circumstances of his disappearance, gardaí issued a public appeal for information, and an appeal on amid growing fears for his wellbeing.
While they have yet to comment publicly on a motive for his disappearance, one theory is that Mr Quilligan, who had a heroin addiction, may have been targeted by members of a criminal gang after he robbed a heroin dealer in the city, and was abducted, bundled into a car, and driven away from the city centre.
Gardaí mounted a major search operation on farmland, bodies of water, and the shoreline in the Courtstown area of Little Island in late September, with garda divers later searching slurry tanks on nearby farmland. The operation was intelligence-led.
While nothing of significance was found and that large search operation was stood down, the missing persons investigation continued, coordinated from an incident room at the Bridewell Garda Station.
The team has examined hundreds of hours of CCTV footage, searched houses in the Mahon and Blackrock areas, and seized several mobile phones.
Gardaí have also been mounting focused searches in specific areas in the East Cork area in recent weeks.
It was one of those focused searches on Monday that led to the discovery of the human remains.
The area was sealed off for a forensic examination, and assistant state pathologist, Dr Margaret Bolster, conducted a preliminary inspection of the remains at the scene before they were removed to Cork University Hospital, where the post-mortem is due to take place on Tuesday.