Gardaí free pair in murder hunt
According to the Garda Press Office, a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions following the weekend arrests.
Gardaí did not divulge if further arrests are likely in the investigation into the murder of John Butler.
The 20-year-old from Cork’s Northside was shot in the chest at close range in the early hours of October 7.
Father-of-one Mr Butler was gunned down as he walk home with his partner Rachel Thornhill along Gurranabraher Road. The seven people held by gardaí over the weekend included a woman in her late teens.
They were held under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act at three garda stations in the city, Gurranabraher, Mayfield and the Bridewell.
All seven were released without charge.
The weapon used in the fatal shooting was a double-barrel shotgun. Although gardaí discovered the vehicle used in the getaway, they declined to disclose if the murder weapon was recovered.
The remaining two people to be released were a man in his 30s, from the Northside, and a man in his 50s with a Southside address.
The weekend arrests, which started with three young men being held on Saturday, were believed to have been the first detentions since the murder three weeks ago.
Shortly after the killing, the young man’s family pleaded for public support in helping to track those involved.Within days of the murder, gardaí discovered a suspect vehicle, believed to have been used in the getaway, at a farm three miles away near Blarney.
