Gardai are today expected back at this search site – to keep digging for evidence that Larry Murphy may have buried a woman there.
Officers investigating the murders of missing women Deirdre Jacob and Jo Jo Dullard have already been digging at the site in rural Co Wicklow for three days and the excavation operation is expected to continue on Thursday morning.
The search operation, which started on Monday, is centred on land at Castleruddery Upper – right in the heart of the area where monster Murphy, 61, prowled.
Officers decided to dig at the large sand pit over suspicions that Murphy abducted and murdered student teacher Ms Jacob, who was 18 when she vanished from outside her home in Newbridge in Co Kildare in July 1998.
That is around 30km from the search site, which is located close to the N81, the main road between Wicklow and south Dublin.
Larry Murphy is the focus of the dig operation.(Image: PA Archive/PA Images)
As we revealed yesterday, the search site is also just a few minutes’ drive from Spinan’s Cross, where Murphy raped and tried to murder a woman he abducted from Carlow town in February 2000 – a crime for which he served 10 years in prison.
Gardai have intelligence that Murphy had visited the land where this week’s dig operation is taking place – and are examining the theory he may have buried at least one car deep in the sand.
Missing women Deirdre Jacob and Jo Jo Dullard. Their cases have both been upgraded to murder.
Detectives from the Cold Case Unit, or Serious Crime Review Team, decided to excavate the area after being told about suspicions about vehicles being buried there.
One theory is that Murphy may have put the remains of student teacher Ms Jacob in the car and then secretly buried it at the site.
But officers are looking for any scrap of evidence that could connect Murphy to Ms Jacob, whose missing person’s case was upgraded to murder in 2018 – 20 years after she vanished.
Gardai are also examining the site for any possible connection to missing Kilkenny woman Jo Jo Dullard, who was 21 when she was abducted from Moone in Co Kildare in November 1995 – about 17km from this new dig site.
Although officers have a different suspect for that case, which is also being treated as murder, detectives did notify Jo Jo’s family of this search. Sources say, however, that gardai are not linking both cases.
Specialist gardai at the site in Wicklow. Picture Colin Keegan, Collins, Dublin.
Murphy, who is now living in England, is believed to have been familiar with the land – a fact that was significant in the Garda decision to begin searching the site on Monday.
Nothing has been found at the search site as of yesterday evening – but specialist gardai are set to return today.
They have already removed hundreds of tonnes of sand and earth from the search area using a heavy digger.
Gardai have again appealed for anyone with information about the two missing women to come forward.
The force said: “An Garda Síochána appeals to anyone with any information, no matter how small or insignificant you might believe it to be to contact any Garda station, or anyone who wishes to provide information confidentially should contact the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.”
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