Gardaí suspect killer brought knives into house
Shane Clancy fatally stabbed 22-year-old Mr Creane at his parents’ home in Bray, Co Wicklow, early on Sunday morning.
In a sustained attack at the house, Mr Clancy, 22, stabbed his former girlfriend Jennifer Hannigan in the back and repeatedly stabbed Mr Creane’s brother, Dylan, up to six times.
Mr Clancy then ran out the rear of the house on Cuala Grove where he killed himself with a knife.
Garda sources said Mr Clancy, who was living in Dalkey, south Dublin, was a non-drinker and suffered from depression.
Sources said that Mr Clancy is suspected of bringing two knives with him when he entered the Creane household at about 4.30am.
This would suggest an element of premeditation and would appear to rule out the possibility that the murderous attack was a sudden fit of rage in which Mr Clancy opportunistically grabbed a knife in the Creane kitchen.
Mr Creane’s parents were abroad on holiday at the time.
Gardaí suspect Mr Clancy’s acts were driven by jealousy.
He is understood to have broken up with Ms Hannigan some time ago.
The 22-year-old woman from Killiney, south Dublin, is believed to have started going out with Mr Creane about two or three months beforehand.
It appears Mr Clancy had become increasingly suspicious during Saturday night and Sunday of a romantic relationship between Ms Hannigan and Mr Creane.
“He somehow seemed to figure it out. It may not have been obvious she was with a new fella,” said a garda source.
While the full sequence of events leading up the murder-suicide is not yet clear, it appears Mr Creane, Mr Clancy and Ms Hannigan had been out with friends on Saturday night in the Sandycove and Dalkey areas. It appears they may have been out in separate groups and met up at some stage together.
It is thought that in the early hours of Sunday, Mr Clancy offered to drive Mr Creane and two of his friends home to Bray.
He dropped the friends off and then let Mr Creane out on Cuala Grove sometime about 3.30am.
It’s not entirely clear what happened from there, but it appears Mr Clancy may have driven away, possibly home, where he got his knives, and driven back to Bray.
It is also possible he waited outside the Creane home, having already had the knives.
At some stage, Ms Hannigan arrived at the Creane house. Mr Clancy then gained entry and at about 4.30am launched the attack.
Gardaí are waiting to speak to Dylan Creane and Jennifer Hannigan in hospital. They both underwent surgery and are expected to recover from their injuries. The top of a blade on one of the knives broke off in Ms Hannigan’s back.
Detectives say these interviews will be crucial in piecing together in detail what happened at the house.
