The main suspect in the disappearance and murder of schoolboy Kyran Durnin has been found dead and investigators have discovered that he left a note.
Anthony Maguire, 36, who was questioned by detectives before being released without charge last week, was discovered dead at his home in Drogheda, Co. Louth yesterday morning, in what Gardaí described as a “personal tragedy” .
Gardaí do not consider his death suspicious and believe he had taken his own life, but stressed that an autopsy will determine the cause of death.
He is said to have left a note before his death, but garda sources told the Irish independent which “left nothing clear in relation to Kyran’s alleged murder”.
“There was nothing in that note that gave any indication of where the child is,” the sources concluded.
It is understood Maguire was suspected of being part of an elaborate cover-up to protect authorities from the student’s disappearance and suspected death.
Kyran, who would be eight years old if still alive, was reported missing in August, but gardaí believe he may have died up to two years earlier.
“Earlier today, Tuesday 17 December 2024, Gardaí and emergency services were alerted following the discovery of the body of a man in his 30s at a domestic residence in Drogheda, County Louth,” a Garda spokesperson said. .
‘The local coroner has been notified and an autopsy will be arranged. The result of the autopsy will determine the course of the investigation.
“There is no additional information available at this time.”
Undated Garda photo of Kyran Durnin
Officers suspect Kyran may have died in 2022, when he was six years old.
Security sources said that during his arrest, Maguire was questioned about whether he provided a “decoy” child, who was brought to Tusla earlier this year in a failed attempt to make them believe the child was Kyran.
A source recently told the Mail on Sunday: ‘The last sighting of Kyran was in May 2022… The (decoy) boy was introduced on two different occasions. That child was identified fairly quickly… This is an incredibly complex investigation, neglect has been observed and several men involved in his life have been observed as well, with a possible abuse factor.’
Last Thursday, Maguire was arrested, which coincided with searches being carried out at two houses in Drogheda, with a forensic and intrusive examination of a house, involving an excavator and a cadaver dog.
Gardaí said the aim of the search was to find evidence that may reveal where Kyran is or what happened to him. The search concluded the next day and Maguire was subsequently released without charge.
Gardaí confirmed their search did not reveal anything significant but plan to carry out further searches as the investigation continues.
One of the sites being considered is a house and garden that were excavated in July 2022, two months after Kyran was last seen.
Although gardaí have established that excavation work in the garden was booked “before the boy died and only began months after he was last seen”, a source familiar with the investigation said it would “very likely” be recorded. property.
On Tuesday last week, a woman known to Kyran and Maguire was also arrested and questioned by gardaí before being released without charge 24 hours later.
However, the two remain the main suspects in the case, along with two other people known to the boy.
Maguire was known to gardaí but had not appeared in court for almost 15 years.
A murder investigation was launched in October following Kyran’s disappearance. She was first reported missing at her grandmother’s house in Drogheda at the end of August.
The heartbreaking last photo of Kyran Durnin (pictured right) shows the eight-year-old smiling alongside his two brothers before he was reported missing.
Gardai in Dundalk, Co Louth, as they search a house in the investigation into the alleged murder of eight-year-old Kyran Durnin.
General view of Dundalk in Ireland, where Kyran was reported missing from his home on August 30.
Tusla, the Children and Families Agency, said it had engaged with the boy’s family.
Attempts to control the family between 2022 and 2024 were frustrated. Security sources have told the Irish Daily Mail they believe Kyran’s murder was covered up by a “group of people he knew”, but garda interrogations have so far failed to produce any concrete results.
They said: ‘What we know is that both people were asked a very simple question: ‘Where is the child?’, and Gardaí got no answer. The investigation has been ongoing for almost three months and brick after wall has been going up.’
On Friday, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said the force had been “inundated” with information from the public. He added: ‘Indeed, when we put out an appeal for information on October 14, we were inundated with information from the public.
‘We’re very happy to see that, because it gave us a lot of clues, a lot of queries that we were able to move forward with.
“As this investigation opens, we will begin to learn more about where we are, who the suspects are and then what we need to do to prove what happened to young Kyran.”
Tusla submitted a report on its engagement with Kyran and his family to the Children’s Minister last month.
Outgoing Minister Roderic O’Gorman said he could not reveal or publish any details of the report as there is an ongoing Garda investigation into the boy’s alleged death.