Gardaí will use specialist equipment to scan the ground before beginning any dig in the garden of a Dublin house where it is claimed the remains of two murdered babies are buried.
A 53-year-old woman has told gardaí she was raped and otherwise sexually abused for a period of just over a decade and that she became pregnant aged 12 years and aged 14 years as a result of the abuse.
She has told officers that in order to conceal the pregnancies and prevent the abuse becoming public, the babies were taken from her by a woman aiding her abusers, murdered and buried in the garden of the west Dublin house.
The allegations, made by the woman to the Garda last year, date back to the 1970s.
Gardaí had planned to begin a dig at the property next week but when news of those plans emerged in the media on Thursday afternoon they immediately moved in to seal off the scene.
And while the garden has now been covered from public view by tents, the ground will be scanned with equipment that can identify areas where the earth has been disturbed, even if many years ago.
Excavation
On the basis of the results of those scans they will excavate at least sections of the garden.
One of the men the woman has named as her abuser has died. But the woman alleged to have helped conceal the abuse is still living in Ireland.
The scanning and excavation of the garden is expected to take several weeks and officers will be posted to the scene on a 24-hour basis to ensure no tampering.
The property where the search is taking place is a well-maintained, two-storey, terraced house in a quiet residential enclave. There was continuous Garda activity around the house on Friday and at one point workmen arrived and entered the property with what appeared to be the steel frame for a marquee.
One neighbour said the area is usually very quiet. She thought there had been an accident initially when she saw the Garda cars arriving. “It’s unbelievable,” she said.
Gardaí in Crumlin are leading the investigation.
