Gardaí arrest five suspects in shooting of grandmother
Four men and a woman were arrested in the Tallaght area early yesterday morning in connection with the murder of Joan Casey on April 3.
The shooting of the 64-year-old mother of five in the bedroom of her home at Avonbeg Park, Tallaght caused public outrage and shock as the popular Mass-attendant and parish worker was not the intended victim of the crime.
Around 30 detectives involved in the investigation made dawn raids on a number of houses in Tallaght yesterday morning when they arrested four men in their 20s and a 31-year-old woman. Several of those detained lived close by to the estate where Ms Casey lived.
All five are being held under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act which allows suspects to be held for up to 72 hours without charge.
They are being questioned at garda stations in Tallaght, Terenure and Crumlin.
Gardaí believe the motive for the attack was related to a local row which involved a member of the dead woman’s family who was not present in the house at the time of the incident.
One neighbour was able to inform detectives that they has seen two armed and masked men running from Ms Casey’s home shortly after the shooting.
Gardaí recovered a shotgun used in the attack which had been stolen during a burglary on the northside of the city last year.
They also found two pairs of gloves worn by the assailants after they were dumped in a litter bin near the scene of the crime. Although the intruders had tried to burn the evidence, a neighbour witnessed the scene and rescued the gloves from being set fully alight.
Ms Casey died from injuries received from a gunshot which was fired through the door of her bedroom at around 6.20am on April 3. The victim’s husband, Dominic and a brother were in the house at the time of the shooting.
Although only two people are believed to have been involved in the break-in of the Casey home, garda sources indicate that others are being questioned over their suspected role in assisting the killers.
