Man quizzed abroad about Annie McCarrick says he and his brother are innocent
A man interviewed by gardaí abroad in connection with the murder of Annie McCarrick has insisted that he and his arrested brother are innocent.
This paper tracked down the man, who is now living in another country, and whose brother was this month arrested and released without charge on suspicion of the murder of the missing US woman.
'My brother and I have nothing to do with Annie's disappearance,' he told us.
The man, who is in his 60s, also told this paper that he believes he has been treated as a suspect in this case - and said he was not surprised that gardaí investigating this 32 year old murder recently travelled to his European home to interview him. He insisted to us that he has a 'watertight alibi' regarding himself - and that his brother also has nothing to do with Annie's disappearance.
'No (I was not surprised gardaí came to interview me), because I've been involved in this from day one,' the man told us. 'It was I that reported her missing. I was the first person who made the statement in respect of her disappearance in order that the guards might not spend time worrying or spend time investigating me.
'I said this is my alibi, this is who I was with and it was airtight - watertight. Every other tight. So I would have been one of the first to be ruled out of the investigation and I would have imagined that was the same as my brother.'
Speaking to us as gardaí continue to search a house in West Dublin, the man said he did not see his brother often -during the time that Annie disappeared. 'God no I wasn't seeing him on a regular basis then. Sorry I beg your pardon, that doesn't mean that I wouldn't have seen him on a regular basis, but it would not be - I could go months without seeing him. His life and my life did not cross over,' he said.
He then went on to deny that anything he recently told gardaí gave them anything new that led to the arrest of his brother - and the massive invasive search in West Dublin.
'The police are feeding you lies. The police are feeding twists. They did indeed interview me but there was nothing about my interview with them that gave them fresh evidence to go after my brother,' he said. 'Bear in mind he's been a suspect for 32 years - which is fine. Why didn't he do anything in the past 32 years guard? 32 years. They can't pin anything on him. There is nothing to pin. They looked at some rubbish. OK that's fine, I don't have a problem with that but they looked and they looked and they looked and they couldn't come up with anything and then a new push on to make cold cases into murder cases."
'So there's a new push and all the boys want a result and by God will they get a result no matter what they do. It doesn't matter whether they get the guilty person. That's not in their brief. They want a result,' he said.
Asked about the search of the home in West Dublin, the man said gardaí were wasting their time and the taxpayers money too. 'Well it's outlandish to believe such a thing. I can't figure out how they could have found justification for spending the guts of €100,000 of the States money on such a fool's errand,' he said. 'It was a surprise to me and I just thought, my God , they're wasting their time. We've nothing to do with, my brother and I have nothing to do with Annie's disappearance.'
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He went on to speak about his belief that he was being treated as a suspect in this case - and insisted there was 'nothing erroneous" about either of his statements to gardaí 32 years ago and in recent months. 'Do you not think I'm a suspect? Did the cops not state to you that I'm a suspect as well?' he said. 'Yeah they didn't arrest me, yeah that's fine. I'm not in Ireland at the moment. It's fine they can leave me for as long as they want,' he added.
He also claimed that gardaí have 'nothing' on his brother - who declined to speak to us when contacted on Friday. 'Bearing in mind they did arrest him for 24 hours and they did release him without charge. They have nothing,' he said.
'There's nothing in this case. It's just totally baseless. Look at it now what have they done with their helicopters and their diggers. What have they got? Nada. Zilch. 'I know nothing about Annie's disappearance and I know nothing about her murder. Nobody can (say I do) because I'm not. Nor are you, nor is the pope in Rome, nor is President O'Higgins,' he said. 'They wasted their time,' he added, telling us that 'I've been on this case for 32 years in my head.'
Last week the man's brother, who was arrested in this case, hung up on this paper when contacted by phone - after we identified ourselves when he asked 'who's this?" It comes as we have also learned how tragic Annie, from Long Island in New York, had told pals 'I've made a terrible mistake' shortly before she vanished. Sources say a guilt ridden Annie wanted to confess to the girlfriend of the suspect that she had had a romantic encounter with him. We've also learned that pals have claimed the suspect was at the time known to be 'angered' that Annie had returned to Ireland from the United States - after deciding to permanently move here in January 1993.
'He was upset that she had decided to come back. He was known to be very unhappy about it,' a source said. This week the suspect also did not respond to a text from us asking if he denied involvement in the disappearance of Ms McCarrick - who he is believed to have had a romantic entanglement with shortly before she vanished in March 1993.
The now wealthy man, who was arrested on suspicion of murder and released without charge last week, has been laying low ever since - as a massive garda search takes place on a home once connected to him some 32 years ago. As revealed by us last week, the suspect is a wealthy man who had been renting out a plush country house as a holiday home - charging members of the public close to €400 a night.
We called to that address and another connected to the man this week - but no one answered the door. Since our reporting on Friday that the suspect was renting out a large country house - multiple advertisements have seemingly been removed from various holiday home rental sites. It comes after we revealed how many people took multiple websites over the years to personally thank the suspect for his hospitality.
Gardaí have now confirmed that searches on a Dublin property will continue into next week. 'Gardaí continue to investigate the disappearance and murder of Annie McCarrick in March 1993. The searches in relation to this investigation remain ongoing and will continue into next week,' a Garda spokesperson confirmed.
Officers first began searching the property two weeks ago - and have continued to excavate large parts of the garden and back of the house- as they work around an extension and works that were done in the years since Ms McCarrick disappeared. The arrested man was released without charge as officers continue to search the home - including utilising a cadaver dog named Fern - the same dog that was used to find the remains of Tina Satchwell in Youghal, Co Cork, in October 2023.
Annie, who was last seen in the Sandymount area of Dublin on March 26, 1993, had last been with the suspect just over a week earlier. It comes also as Ms McCarrick's heartbroken mother Nancy (81) exclusively told this paper on Monday that she was being kept regularly informed of developments by gardaí - but that having someone in court over her daughter's murder is not what's on her mind.'Really my only concern is Annie. I'm sorry, it sounds terrible to say, but I really don't have any interest in justice,' she said.
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Extra.ie
3 hours ago
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Man questioned about Annie McCarrick says 'police are feeding you lies'
A man who was questioned abroad about the Annie McCarrick case has insisted that he and his brother – who was arrested as a suspect – are innocent. Ms McCarrick was 26 years old at the time of her disappearance, and had been living in Ireland after moving to Dublin from the USA in 1993. The American native was last seen on March 26, 1993 with the missing person case being upgraded to a murder investigation on the 30th anniversary of her disappearance. A man who was questioned abroad about the Annie McCarrick case has insisted that he and his brother – who was arrested as a suspect – are innocent. Pic: An Garda Siochana/PA Wire This month, a man was arrested on suspicion of the murder of Ms McCarrick, but was released without charge. A search of a property which was the chief suspect's family home at the time of Annie's disappearance is still ongoing. The home was purchased by its current owners within the last 15 years, with the owners having moved out of the residence for the duration of the search. The home was purchased by its current owners within the last 15 years and they have nothing to do with the case. Pic: Sam Boal/Collins Photos It comes not long after it was revealed by that Gardaí had decided to make an arrest after going to another jurisdiction to speak with the brother of their suspect. It is understood that information procured during this interview discredited the suspect's alibi for the day Annie went missing. However, speaking to the Irish Mirror, the man insisted that both he and his brother have nothing to do with Annie's death. It comes not long after it was revealed by that Gardaí had moved to arrest the chief suspect in the McCarrick murder after going to another jurisdiction to speak with a close associate of the man. Pic: An Garda Síochána 'My brother and I have nothing to do with Annie's disappearance,' he stated. 'It was I that reported her missing. I was the first person who made the statement in respect of her disappearance in order that the guards might not spend time worrying or spend time investigating me. 'I would have been one of the first to be ruled out of the investigation and I would have imagined that was the same as my brother.' He added that police were 'feeding you lies' as he confirmed a previous conversation with Gardaí wouldn't have given them 'fresh evidence to go after my brother.' exclusively revealed back in March that an arrest was imminent after the investigating team identified a flaw in the previous case work. Gardaí had been focused on apparent sightings of Annie in Enniskerry and near Johnnie Fox's pub. However, the new investigation team have now all but discounted these 'sightings' and believe they may have led Gardaí away from Ms McCarrick's inner circle and the man they have now identified as their chief suspect.
Irish Daily Mirror
6 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Man quizzed abroad about Annie McCarrick says he and his brother are innocent
A man interviewed by gardaí abroad in connection with the murder of Annie McCarrick has insisted that he and his arrested brother are innocent. This paper tracked down the man, who is now living in another country, and whose brother was this month arrested and released without charge on suspicion of the murder of the missing US woman. 'My brother and I have nothing to do with Annie's disappearance,' he told us. The man, who is in his 60s, also told this paper that he believes he has been treated as a suspect in this case - and said he was not surprised that gardaí investigating this 32 year old murder recently travelled to his European home to interview him. He insisted to us that he has a 'watertight alibi' regarding himself - and that his brother also has nothing to do with Annie's disappearance. 'No (I was not surprised gardaí came to interview me), because I've been involved in this from day one,' the man told us. 'It was I that reported her missing. I was the first person who made the statement in respect of her disappearance in order that the guards might not spend time worrying or spend time investigating me. 'I said this is my alibi, this is who I was with and it was airtight - watertight. Every other tight. So I would have been one of the first to be ruled out of the investigation and I would have imagined that was the same as my brother.' Speaking to us as gardaí continue to search a house in West Dublin, the man said he did not see his brother often -during the time that Annie disappeared. 'God no I wasn't seeing him on a regular basis then. Sorry I beg your pardon, that doesn't mean that I wouldn't have seen him on a regular basis, but it would not be - I could go months without seeing him. His life and my life did not cross over,' he said. He then went on to deny that anything he recently told gardaí gave them anything new that led to the arrest of his brother - and the massive invasive search in West Dublin. 'The police are feeding you lies. The police are feeding twists. They did indeed interview me but there was nothing about my interview with them that gave them fresh evidence to go after my brother,' he said. 'Bear in mind he's been a suspect for 32 years - which is fine. Why didn't he do anything in the past 32 years guard? 32 years. They can't pin anything on him. There is nothing to pin. They looked at some rubbish. OK that's fine, I don't have a problem with that but they looked and they looked and they looked and they couldn't come up with anything and then a new push on to make cold cases into murder cases." 'So there's a new push and all the boys want a result and by God will they get a result no matter what they do. It doesn't matter whether they get the guilty person. That's not in their brief. They want a result,' he said. Asked about the search of the home in West Dublin, the man said gardaí were wasting their time and the taxpayers money too. 'Well it's outlandish to believe such a thing. I can't figure out how they could have found justification for spending the guts of €100,000 of the States money on such a fool's errand,' he said. 'It was a surprise to me and I just thought, my God , they're wasting their time. We've nothing to do with, my brother and I have nothing to do with Annie's disappearance.' The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week He went on to speak about his belief that he was being treated as a suspect in this case - and insisted there was 'nothing erroneous" about either of his statements to gardaí 32 years ago and in recent months. 'Do you not think I'm a suspect? Did the cops not state to you that I'm a suspect as well?' he said. 'Yeah they didn't arrest me, yeah that's fine. I'm not in Ireland at the moment. It's fine they can leave me for as long as they want,' he added. He also claimed that gardaí have 'nothing' on his brother - who declined to speak to us when contacted on Friday. 'Bearing in mind they did arrest him for 24 hours and they did release him without charge. They have nothing,' he said. 'There's nothing in this case. It's just totally baseless. Look at it now what have they done with their helicopters and their diggers. What have they got? Nada. Zilch. 'I know nothing about Annie's disappearance and I know nothing about her murder. Nobody can (say I do) because I'm not. Nor are you, nor is the pope in Rome, nor is President O'Higgins,' he said. 'They wasted their time,' he added, telling us that 'I've been on this case for 32 years in my head.' Last week the man's brother, who was arrested in this case, hung up on this paper when contacted by phone - after we identified ourselves when he asked 'who's this?" It comes as we have also learned how tragic Annie, from Long Island in New York, had told pals 'I've made a terrible mistake' shortly before she vanished. Sources say a guilt ridden Annie wanted to confess to the girlfriend of the suspect that she had had a romantic encounter with him. We've also learned that pals have claimed the suspect was at the time known to be 'angered' that Annie had returned to Ireland from the United States - after deciding to permanently move here in January 1993. 'He was upset that she had decided to come back. He was known to be very unhappy about it,' a source said. This week the suspect also did not respond to a text from us asking if he denied involvement in the disappearance of Ms McCarrick - who he is believed to have had a romantic entanglement with shortly before she vanished in March 1993. The now wealthy man, who was arrested on suspicion of murder and released without charge last week, has been laying low ever since - as a massive garda search takes place on a home once connected to him some 32 years ago. As revealed by us last week, the suspect is a wealthy man who had been renting out a plush country house as a holiday home - charging members of the public close to €400 a night. We called to that address and another connected to the man this week - but no one answered the door. Since our reporting on Friday that the suspect was renting out a large country house - multiple advertisements have seemingly been removed from various holiday home rental sites. It comes after we revealed how many people took multiple websites over the years to personally thank the suspect for his hospitality. Gardaí have now confirmed that searches on a Dublin property will continue into next week. 'Gardaí continue to investigate the disappearance and murder of Annie McCarrick in March 1993. The searches in relation to this investigation remain ongoing and will continue into next week,' a Garda spokesperson confirmed. Officers first began searching the property two weeks ago - and have continued to excavate large parts of the garden and back of the house- as they work around an extension and works that were done in the years since Ms McCarrick disappeared. The arrested man was released without charge as officers continue to search the home - including utilising a cadaver dog named Fern - the same dog that was used to find the remains of Tina Satchwell in Youghal, Co Cork, in October 2023. Annie, who was last seen in the Sandymount area of Dublin on March 26, 1993, had last been with the suspect just over a week earlier. It comes also as Ms McCarrick's heartbroken mother Nancy (81) exclusively told this paper on Monday that she was being kept regularly informed of developments by gardaí - but that having someone in court over her daughter's murder is not what's on her mind.'Really my only concern is Annie. I'm sorry, it sounds terrible to say, but I really don't have any interest in justice,' she said.
Extra.ie
a day ago
- Extra.ie
Annie McCarrick: 'Significant excavation' continues in search of suspect's former home
The innocent owners of the Dublin house where gardaí are searching for the remains of American student Annie McCarrick will be compensated for damage to their beautifully renovated family home. The search of the property, which was the chief suspect's family home at the time Ms McCarrick disappeared, has been ongoing and is expected to continue into next week. Sources said the current owners of the property, who purchased the house within the past 15 years and have since moved out for the duration of the search, have transformed it into a large, modern family home. Annie McCarrick. Pic: An Garda Síochána/PA Wire But with gardaí determined to rule it out as a possible burial site, 'significant excavation' work is being carried out. A response to parliamentary queries from former Social Democrats co-leader Catherine Murphy confirmed a total of €217,790 was paid to property owners who had been subject to Garda raids between 2015 and September 2021. The bulk of this, €158,685, was paid out by the SCA. Garda Headquarters handled more minor claims amounting to €59,005. The innocent owners of the Dublin house where gardaí are searching for the remains of American student Annie McCarrick will be compensated for damage to their beautifully renovated family home. Pic: Sam Boal/Collins Photos Last week, revealed gardaí moved to arrest the chief suspect in the McCarrick murder after going to another jurisdiction to speak with a close associate of the man. It is understood this associate provided information to gardaí, which discredited the suspect's alibi for the day Ms McCarrick vanished. The arrest came as detectives worked on the theory that she was murdered by a 'jealous' man who was known to her. In March 2023, revealed a person of 'significant interest' to detectives was identified and that this was why the case was upgraded to a murder investigation at the time. Annie McCarrick. Pic: An Garda Síochána The development came more than 30 years after Ms McCarrick's friends told gardaí they were concerned about the man, who was well known to her. Ms McCarrick's friend, Linda Ringhouse, and her aunt, Maureen Covell, this weekend expressed concern at how gardaí handled the original investigation. 'They botched it,' Ms Covell told the Irish Times. The innocent owners of the Dublin house where gardaí are searching for the remains of American student Annie McCarrick will be compensated for damage to their beautifully renovated family home. Pic: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin. 'They admitted it. They didn't listen to the family and did not investigate who we thought was guilty in the very beginning. 'They pooh-poohed a lot and didn't follow up on things they should have. That's no secret. It is all documented. 'And no matter how many times we said there is something wrong, it was: 'Oh, she is off on an adventure and she will turn up'.' Newspaper reports this week quoted Annie McCarrick's mother, Nancy, as saying she had 'no interest' in justice, but her friend and aunt are adamant that the family do want justice. In a social media post in 2022, Ms Ringhouse described Ms McCarrick as her 'first and oldest best friend'. 'She was a force of freedom and adventure so much that she took off to Ireland to live her ultimate dream,' she wrote at the time. 'I remember being jealous of Ireland, in a way, because it was taking her away from us. 'She was a true romantic with a big loving heart. An eloquent, soft-spoken, natural beauty as well as a hilarious, foul-mouthed stunner. She could make you spit your drink out from crazy laughter.' Ms Ringhouse told how she visited Ms McCarrick the month before she went missing. 'I was able to see how happy she was to be there and starting a new life chapter. It's hard to describe losing someone this way. It's a different type of loss and grief. It brings a type of anger and rage that does subside, but can come right back at any moment. 'She is never forgotten among those of us that were lucky to call her a friend.'
