A drunken bragging point on a cellmate has placed Larry Murphy at the center of a renewed investigation into the disappearance, and now assumed murder, of teenager Deirdre Jacob.
A convicted murderer told gardaí Murphy admitted having abducted and the then 18-year-old student student.
The man, aged 40 and older, made the statement in 2011 at gardaí. Now it is assumed that officers are now & # 39; proactive & # 39; want to work with the prisoner in hopes of continuing the investigation.
The murderer, whose brother also served time for murder and whose father was jailed for a violent crime, claimed that Murphy died van Deirdre admitted Jacob with a hammer for throwing away her body in a lake.
A source said that the alleged admission has a very important role to play [in the investigation] if we will ever move this one.
& # 39; There is a strategy. The investigation was upgraded to murder after the culmination of a lot of things discovered during the review of the past year that have all been drawn together, "the source said.
This publication also taught that Murphy can be placed in the Newbridge area of Co Kildare around the time Deirdre Jacob disappeared. It is clear that traders have told detectives that Murphy was working in a local hotel when the teenager disappeared.
The source said: & # 39; The upgrade in the investigation is due to the establishment of relevant facts. For example, where people were working at that moment.
Another source said rumors are circulating about Murphy's involvement in the disappearance of Deirdre Jacob since his arrest for rape in 2000.
& # 39; There were many people who talked about him and how he drank in the pub of Coffey in Newbridge. But there were always other names in the hat. There was a local member of the traveling community that committed suicide a week after she disappeared who was suspected and there was another man who raped an elderly woman who was also in the frame. & # 39;
The extensive research is led by Chief Inspector Martin Walker together with Chief Inspector Brian Sutton of Kildare Garda Station. Detectives from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, including those from the cold-case unit and the Serious Crime Review Team, are also involved. Chief Supt Sutton urged this week that someone with information would come forward.
& # 39; The new information is substantial enough to allow us to re-classify the investigation as a murder investigation, & # 39; he said. & # 39; There are a number of people of interest in this case and we appeal to anyone with information that can help us to come forward. Their information will be handled in a sensitive and confidential manner.
& # 39; Deirdre Jacob was 18 when she was last seen on July 28, 1998 when she walked to her home in Newbridge, Co Kildare. She was a young woman who started her life, who had just finished a year at St Mary's University in Twickenham, London.
& # 39; Deirdre had enjoyed her life in London and was looking forward to returning to college in September, when her life was taken away on or after July 28, 1998. Currently the case of Deirdre has top priority and we will view the other cases if we believe that this information could be useful for those studies, "said Supt Sutton.
Larry Murphy was released in 2010 after being convicted in 2000 for rape and kidnapping of a businesswoman. The rapist spent several months in Ireland after his release before traveling to Amsterdam, Spain and Israel.
Gardaí believes that Murphy is now living in London, where he has been since 2013.
The rapist, a father of two, who was married before he was imprisoned, did not return to Ireland in May for the funeral of his mother, Margaret Murphy. He was not mentioned during the service, which was attended by more than a hundred family members and friends.
Read an interview with Deirdre Jacob's parents Michael and Bernie.
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