One of the key people of interest to gardaí investigating the death of Daniel Aruebose is living abroad with no plans to return to Ireland. Garda sources said they were unaware of any travel arrangements, even though the person is at the centre of such a high-profile and serious investigation.
The person is one of two who detectives have been focused on since the inquiry began in late August. They both knew Daniel and played a role in his life. The three-year-old was living in a family setting in Donabate, north Dublin, when he went missing about four years ago.
The alarm was only raised at the end of August when checks were made on a social welfare payment related to Daniel. Officials could not determine his whereabouts and flagged their concerns with Tusla, the child and family agency, which contacted gardaí.
Daniel’s partial skeletal remains were discovered on Wednesday buried in a field just outside Donabate. The land, off Portrane Road, had been sealed off for a search by gardaí since September 1st. A DNA sample has been taken from a relative of Daniel’s to cross-check against samples from the recovered bones to confirm the identity.
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Sources said the discovery of the remains was strong evidence the two people at the centre of the inquiry knew how and when Daniel died and why his death was concealed.
On Thursday, a pathologist as well as forensic experts examined the remains where they lay. This took place ahead of their removal from the site for a postmortem examination, aided by a specialist forensic paediatric pathologist. The remains were exhumed and removed late on Thursday. Gardaí are hopeful the postmortem can determine the cause of death and, specifically, whether foul play was a factor.
However, sources also said that because Daniel was a child and his remains were buried for about four years, his body had completely decomposed. This meant the skeletal remains available for postmortem were in poor condition, which posed significant challenges.
One specialist with experience of the postmortem process in criminal investigations said unless Daniel’s death arose from something that created a clear bone injury, such as a fractured skull, it was unlikely the postmortem would determine the cause of death.
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Gardaí have been told by witnesses that Daniel died of natural causes and his body was buried in the ensuing panic. However, the forensic science source said: “Chances are, if it’s natural disease, you are not going to find anything.” They arrived at this conclusion based on Daniel’s age, size and the duration of burial.
They added that if Daniel was smothered or suffocated, this was also unlikely to be revealed by a postmortem due to the condition of the remains.
[ The Donabate site was suddenly still and silent as a child’s remains were foundOpens in new window ]
However, in the event a conclusive finding of foul play was reached, the investigation would proceed as a murder inquiry. Even if a cause of death cannot be established, or foul play is ruled out, criminal charges are likely. Failure to notify the authorities that a person has died is a crime, as is the unauthorised burying of a body and related actions.
Most such crimes are summary offences. This means, under legislation, they are not serious enough to meet the criteria for extradition proceedings against any suspect based abroad.
In an interview with The Journal, Daniel’s foster sister said she remembered the “sweetest little baby ever . . . he was so cute”. She said her family fostered him for the first year of his life and then for periods, to offer respite to his parents, for the next six months.
“He loved dancing, he loved laughing and he loved showing off that he understood you,” she said. The young woman, who was not named, said her family formed a very strong bond with “Danny” and had wanted to keep him in their care.
