Gardaí believe the arrest of a woman on suspicion of the murder of Kyran Durnin, who would be aged 8 years if still alive, will “inform” the criminal investigation into his death, though it is still expected to take some time. The woman was released without charge on Wednesday afternoon.
Garda sources said it was never expected the arrest would result in criminal charges. Instead, it was carried out as detectives wanted to put evidence gathered to date to the woman as part of a long-range strategy in the case.
Confirming the suspect, the first person arrested in the case, had been released without charge, the Garda said it was still appealing to anyone with information about Kyran “no matter how insignificant it may seem” to contact the investigation team at Drogheda Garda station.
Gardaí detained the woman, who is in her 20s, on Tuesday after she returned from abroad. Though gardaí knew of the whereabouts of the woman for several months, and had spoken to her while she was abroad, they were powerless to arrest her, as she was not in the Republic.
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They were also unable to extradite her because extradition can only be used as a legal mechanism for a suspect who is wanted to face criminal charges. This does not apply in the investigation into Kyran’s assumed murder as no charges have been approved by the DPP and no file on the case has been sent to the DPP’s office by the Garda.
Detectives are still trying to establish the basic facts of the case, including where and when Kyran died and if his death was definitely a homicide. They have not completely ruled out the possibility he died in some other way, perhaps accidentally, and that his death was concealed for some reason.
However, Garda sources said there was “really no doubt” Kyran was dead. Hopes, however slim, he may still be alive when the case became public knowledge in the summer had now completely faded. Gardaí suspect the boy died sometime in the second half of 2022. The woman arrested was questioned “on suspicion of murder” under Section 4 Criminal Justice Act 1984.
It was unclear why the arrested woman returned to Ireland but when gardaí became aware of her presence in the State they decided to detain her. It was the first arrest in the case, though Garda sources have cautioned the inquiry was still expected to take a long time “unless there’s some very unexpected development”.
Gardaí in October carried out extensive searches at a property on Emer Terrace in Dundalk – where Kyran and his family lived. This included excavating the back yard and nearby open land, though Kyran’s remains were not found there.
Rhonda Tyson, Kyran’s grandmother and Dayla Durnin’s mother, was interviewed in September by Andrew Spearman of the Drogheda Life media outlet, telling him her daughter and grandson went missing earlier this year.
Ms Tyson told Mr Spearman her daughter and grandson had spent the night of August 28th into 29th, this year, in her home in Drogheda. She said she last saw her daughter and grandson in her home at about 11pm on August 28th and the following morning they were gone.
The Irish Times has established when the child and family welfare agency, Tusla, tried to contact the family on August 29th, its staff could not locate Kyran. Later that day, Tusla staff reported their significant concerns for the boy’s welfare to the Garda. The following day, August 30th, a family member went to the Garda and made a missing persons report relating to Kyran and his mother.
Gardaí immediately launched a missing persons inquiry and when that failed to find the missing mother and son, a public appeal for information was made by the Garda on September 4th.
However, in the following weeks, Ms Durnin was found in the UK, without her son, and on October 16th the missing persons appeal, and investigation, relating to her was stood down. But on the same day the Garda issued a statement saying it had failed to find any evidence since its investigation began at the end of August that Kyran was alive and had launched a murder investigation.
Gardaí have been unable to find any evidence Kyran was alive after he was last seen at school in Dundalk, Co Louth, in June, 2022, at the end of the academic year. The school was led to believe Kyran would be attending school in Newry, Co Down, from September, 2022.
However, there is no evidence he ever attended school there and no evidence he was alive after the summer of 2022. While there were records of Kyran having been brought to a Tusla meeting this year and staying with his mother in guest house accommodation in Co Louth, gardaí do not believe that boy was Kyran.
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