GARDAÍ HAVE launched a murder investigation after a postmortem on the remains of Dubliner Ciarán Noonan revealed he died violently.
The body of the 29-year-old father of one, who had been missing for two weeks, was found on Friday night at farmland in Co Meath.
The exact spot where the remains lay was identified after information was passed to gardaí earlier on Friday.
A Garda search team went to a field at Tullaghmeaden, about six miles from Trim on the Dublin road, on Friday night. With the aid of light from the Garda helicopter above they found Mr Noonan’s remains. The scene was sealed off and the body left there overnight.
A preliminary examination of the remains was carried out by Deputy State Pathologist Dr Khalid Jabbar on Saturday morning before the remains were taken away for postmortem.
That examination revealed the dead man had died violently, and what had been a missing persons investigation was upgraded to a murder inquiry. The Irish Times understands that given the level of decomposition, further analysis is needed before the exact cause of death can be confirmed.
Gardaí believe the killing was drug-related and is linked to a north Dublin crime gang.
Mr Noonan had been missing since the afternoon of Thursday, October 20th. The last confirmed sighting of him was on Russell Avenue, East Wall, that afternoon.
He was seen being beaten by a number of men, at least one of whom was armed with an iron bar, before being bundled into the back of a car and driven off.
Gardaí believe at least four men were involved in the abduction. Detectives believe they have established the identity of all four.
One man has been arrested and was being held last night.
Gardaí believe Mr Noonan was murdered shortly after his abduction and his killers panicked and drove to Co Meath, where they dumped his body after carrying it across a field off the roadway.
Gardaí believe the car the killers used was a distinctive black VW Golf with a spoiler on the rear, tinted windows and spoked wheels. It was later found in a car park at the Killegland apartment complex in Ashbourne at about 8pm on the day of the abduction. Blood was found inside.
Gardaí spent much of last week searching areas in north Co Dublin and Co Meath trying to locate Mr Noonan’s remains after receiving a tip-off as to the general whereabouts of the body.
Those searches came to nothing. Gardaí then received more specific information that led them to the body.
The man in custody is from Coolock, north Dublin, and is one of a number of suspects. Gardaí believe he has detailed information that could help them solve the case. In his late 20s, he was arrested under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act and is being questioning at Store Street Garda station about what information he may have about the murder.
That arrest was the third in the investigation, with two women arrested last week having been released without charge.
