The recent breakthrough in the Kerry Babies case has led to the arrest of a couple from south Kerry for questioning by gardaí about the murder of the Baby John found on White Strand outside the town almost four decades ago. The cold case review began in 2018 to review the case and was led by Tralee-based Supt Flor Murphy. It has been reported that DNA results will be included in a file for Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Gardaí in Ireland have made a significant breakthrough in a 37-year-old “Kerry Babies” cold case investigation. A couple in their 60s was arrested and later released after questioning about the murder of the baby found on White Strand, outside the town of Cahersiveen, in 1984. Baby John’s body was discovered wedged between rocks on the shoreline with multiple stab wounds, including four that pierced his heart, and a broken neck. The case became a scandal for the gardaí when local woman Joanne Hayes was accused of the murder in 1984. Hayes, a 25-year-old woman from Abbeydorney, was wrongfully charged with the murder, leading to a public tribunal and years of controversy in Ireland. The case was reviewed in 2018, and a DNA match led the authorities to the couple. The forensic evidence identifies the father of Baby John.