Ireland Ireland - County Kerry - "Baby John" 5 day old, stabbed, in bag, Apr 1984 *arrest*

[Glaber]

Two arrested over death of baby boy found with stab wounds on Irish beach in 1984​

The infant, known as Baby John, was discovered washed up on a beach in County Kerry in April 1984, in a high-profile discovery known as the "Kerry Babies" case. Two people have been arrested in what police described as a "significant development" to establish the truth.

--- I hope I did this OK. I searched could not find info about him or recent development here.

 

[dotr]

Kerry Babies: The cold case team behind the investigation

The cold case review has mainly occurred out of the public eye

www.irishexaminer.com

March 25 2023
''A veil of secrecy has surrounded the cold case review into the killing of 'Baby John' who was found on White Strand beach near Caherciveen, Co Kerry, on April 14, 1984, having sustained 28 stab wounds and a broken neck.

A team of detectives from the Kerry Garda division, who were handpicked in 2018 to take part in the review, has worked closely over a five-year period with their Dublin-based colleagues from the Serious Crime Review Team (SCRT), leading to the arrests of a man and a woman on Thursday.

Gardaí stated in a release that the man, who is in his sixties, and the woman, who is in her fifties, were arrested in Munster. Gardaí also only confirmed that they were being detained in Garda stations in the “south of the country”.

''Door-to-door inquiries were carried out in Valentia Island five years ago as investigating officers teased out one of many lines of investigation. At the time they were addressing the possibility that the infant could possibly have been placed in the sea on the island with his body washing up in White Strand.

Gardaí have repeatedly indicated that no detail is “too small” in terms of the significance it could hold in relation to solving the killing of the baby boy.''

 

[dotr]

26 March 2023 lengthy article.

Kerry Babies: How DNA tests and computer mapping led to two arrests in a decades-old murder case

The case of Baby John has gone unsolved since 1984.

www.thejournal.ie

''The stone features no date of birth or death, or a full name; its only other references are to Baby John and the date the child was baptised, 14 April, 1984 – the same day he was discovered lifeless with multiple stab wounds on nearby White Strand beach.

Investigators have been seeking to piece together everything else in the years since, in a case that has at times shocked the nation and asked questions of Ireland’s treatment of women, social attitudes towards sex, and the capabilities of Gardaí.

The latest twist came on Thursday evening, when two people were arrested in the broader West Kerry area in what lead investigator Superintendent Flor Murphy described as a “significant development”. Both have now since been released, with a file to be prepared for the DPP.''

''One of the key pillars of the investigation centred on cross-checking the DNA samples collected in the area around White Strand.

Those DNA samples were cross referenced with DNA taken from Baby John when he was exhumed in 2021.

That ultimately led to the two arrests on Thursday evening.

While the two people arrested may have given a sample during the voluntary appeal in 2018, it’s likely they will have been asked to give a sample to Gardaí in custody too.''

 

[dotr]

Data on 44 unidentified human remains published to help identify missing persons​

New database includes information about the ‘Kerry baby’ and dead baby girl found in recycling centre
www.irishtimes.com
Mary Carolan
Tue May 16 2023
''A database of information about 44 unidentified human remains, including of a newborn baby found in a recycling centre in Co Wicklow and the two-day old infant known as ‘Baby John’ found on a beach in Co Kerry, has been published here for the first time.

The information has been obtained from coroners and published by the Department of Justice in the hope it will assist families of missing persons and Garda investigations into unsolved missing persons cases, said Minister of State at the Department, James Browne.

DNA profiles for 28 of the 44 are already on the national DNA database and steps will be taken to extract samples, where possible, from the other 16 to also include them on the national database. That will require exhumations in some cases.

There are an estimated 856 unsolved missing persons cases live on the Garda Pulse system. While many are quickly resolved, it is hoped that potentially identifying details found on the human remains, including tattoos and clothing, may assist in solving others.''