A couple from County Kerry, Ireland were arrested earlier this month on suspicion of the murder of Baby John almost 40 years ago. Gardaí have confirmed that they are satisfied the couple, a woman in her 50s and a man in his 60s, are the biological parents of the infant found murdered on White Strand in Cahersiveen. However, the couple’s solicitor has stated that they deny the murder allegation and that there is no evidence to suspect them. During their 24 hours in custody, the couple made no admissions relating to the infant or its birth and death. Gardaí are expected to turn to close relatives and friends of the couple to determine whether they knew about the pregnancy in the spring of 1984. The garda file from the original investigation is also being examined to determine whether the woman and her family were contacted by gardaí who conducted house-to-house inquiries or whether they provided any information to the investigation team. The woman is understood to be the daughter of a garda, who died several years before the investigation was launched, and the investigation will now have to look at interviewing people who were around the area at the time. The subsequent murder investigation in 1984 led to the Kerry Babies scandal where Joanne Hayes and her family were falsely accused of the murder and later cleared when DNA tests proved she was not Baby John’s mother. The State apologized to Hayes in 2018. The Cold-case review of the murder led to the DNA breakthrough that led to the recent arrests.
