Disappearance of Kyran Durnin
Kyran Durnin, an 8-year-old Irish child, was reported missing to Gardaí at the end of August 2024, with the last confirmed sighting of him being in June 2022. A murder investigation was launched in October 2024 after authorities received information suggesting that Kyran was dead.
Background
[edit]In late May 2022, Kyran's mother, Dayla Durnin, contacted her son's primary school in Dundalk to report that he was in hospital with COVID-19 and would be absent from school for the next few weeks. In June 2022, Kyran's family then informed the school that they were relocating to Newry in Northern Ireland and that Kyran would therefore not be returning after the summer holidays.[1]
In early 2024, child welfare officials working for Tusla became concerned about the Durnin family, and requested a face-to-face meeting. A meeting took place in mid-July 2024 with the family and a child that Tusla officials understood to be Kyran, with another face-to-face meeting taking place in early August 2024.[1]
Missing person investigation
[edit]On 29 August 2024, Kyran's maternal grandmother Rhonda Byrne Tyson contacted Tusla with concern's over her daughter Dayla and Kyran, as they both had gone missing from the house they shared. Tyson was advised to notify Gardaí, while Tusla also separately reported the matter to Garda officials.[1]
On 30 August 2024, Tyson filed a missing person report at Drogheda garda station, stating that she had last seen her daughter Dayla Durnin and her grandson Kyran Durnin around 11pm two days prior and was concerned about their well-being.[2] In early September 2024, Gardaí launched a public appeal for information regarding the whereabouts of Dayla and Kyran Durnin, which included physical descriptions and the items of clothing the were both believed to be wearing.[3][4]
Subsequent Garda investigations into Kyran's whereabouts uncovered no documentary evidence to prove he was admitted to hospital in 2022 with COVID-19, nor did he ever attend any school in Northern Ireland. Gardaí also established that the boy who attended the Tulsa social workers meetings with Dayla Durnin was not Kyran.[5]
Murder Investigation
[edit]On 17 October 2024, Gardaí upgraded Kyran's disappearance to a murder investigation,[6] having failed to uncover any evidence that he was currently alive and after receiving "specific information" that he was dead.[7] On 22 October 2024, Garda forensic teams searched a terraced house on Emer Terrace in Dundalk previously rented by the Durnin family, as well as excavating a section of wasteland behind the same house, in an effort to recover evidence relating to the disappearance of Kyran, but nothing of evidential value was discovered.[8]
In early November 2024, Dayla Durnin was tracked down in East Anglia after Gardaí requested the UK authorities to check on her welfare. Durnin reportedly informed UK police that she did not know the current whereabouts of her son Kyran nor anything about the circumstances of his disappearance.[9] Subsequent media reports stated that Durnin claimed to have fled Ireland over fears for her own personal safety, and she had no plans to return, having settled in Ipswich.[10]
On 10 December 2024, a woman in her 20s, who some in the Irish media described as the chief suspect in the death of Kyran, was arrested by Gardaí on suspicion of his murder after she arrived by ferry from overseas. The woman, who was well known to Kyran, was released without charge after 24 hours of interrogation by Garda detectives[11] and subsequently returned to her current home in the United Kingdom.[12]
On 12 December 2024, Gardaí arrested 36-year-old Anthony Maguire on suspicion of the murder of Kyran Durnin. Garda forensic teams also searched Maguire's house in the Beechwood area of Drogheda with the aid of a cadaver dog and excavated its back garden to look for evidence relating to Kyran. According to reports in the Irish media, Maguire was previously in a relationship with the chief suspect in the case,[13] and was suspected of having facilitated a "decoy" child being brought to meetings with Tusla in an effort to deceive the authorities into believing he was Kyran.[14][15] Maguire was released without charge after 24 hours, and on 17 December 2024 he was found dead at his home in Beechwood after apparently committing suicide.[16]
On 19 December 2024, Gardaí released the last known photograph of Kyran, which was recovered by technical officers from a mobile phone seized during investigations into his disappearance. Data from the phone indicated the photo was taken in early June 2022, while also geotagging it to the Drogheda area.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "School 'was told missing pupil Kyran Durnin was in hospital with Covid-19'". The Irish Independent. 3 November 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
- ^ "Kyran Durnin case: How can a little boy not be seen for more than two years and yet no official action be taken?". The Irish Independent. 19 October 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
- ^ "Missing Persons - Kyran Durnin". Garda Press Office. September 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
- ^ "Garda appeal for mother and 8-year-old son missing for one week". Cork Beo. 4 September 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
- ^ a b "Photos from phone give gardaí proof of Kyran's last known location". Sunday World. 22 December 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
- ^ "Update – Appeal for Information Kyran Durnin (8 years) Missing Presumed Dead". Garda Press Office. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
- ^ "Gardaí launched murder probe after receiving 'specific information' that Drogheda boy Kyran Durnin (8) is dead". The Irish Independent. 17 October 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
- ^ "Hope for answers is dashed as dig turns up nothing in search for missing Kyran Durnin". The Irish Independent. 26 October 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
- ^ "Mother of Kyran Durnin tracked down in England as message passed on to gardai investigating child missing presumed dead". Dublin Live. 8 November 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
- ^ "Mother of missing Kyran Durnin claims she was attacked and beaten up in Ireland". Dublin Live. 1 December 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
- ^ "Woman arrested in connection with murder of Kyran Durnin (8) released without charge". The Irish Independent. 11 December 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
- ^ "Further arrests expected in the new year in Kyran Durnin murder investigation". The Irish Independent. 30 December 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
- ^ "Man arrested on suspicion of murder of missing schoolboy Kyran Durnin (8) was in relationship with chief suspect". The Irish Independent. 12 December 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
- ^ "Man arrested in Kyran Durnin murder probe suspected of being involved in 'decoy child' plot". Sunday World. 13 December 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
- ^ "Gardai fear Kyran Durnin suspect Anthony Maguire has taken key to disappearance to grave". Belfast Live. 18 December 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
- ^ "Gardai believe Kyran Durnin suspect who took own life was key in 'decoy child cover up'". Dublin Live. 18 December 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2025.