‘Help his daughter understand why her daddy was taken from her’

GRÁINNE stillexpects to hear her son’s key in the door and his usual shout “howya Ma, it’s only me”.

Two years after his disappearance, Gráinne and the rest of the family inhabit a “living nightmare”.

Kenneth Fetherstone, 28, was murdered on September 22, 2009, and his body dumped in the Dublin mountains. His skeletal remains, which had been scattered by animals, were found by walkers on January 31, 2010. They could only be identified by dental records.

Gardaí said Kenneth, a father of one, was a decent, law-abiding man. They suspect he lent money to people who refused to pay back the loan, and killed him when he looked for the money.

Yesterday, on the eve of the second anniversary of his disappearance, his family, gardaí and Crimestoppers appealed for information.

Gardaí hope the appeal from Kenneth’s mother may prick the conscience of those, including partners of the killers, who have withheld information.

“The pain is still as raw today as it was back then,” Gráinne said. “A huge gaping hole has been left in our family, our hearts shattered in a thousand pieces.”

Accompanied by her husband Brian and their daughter Niamh, Gráinne said it was having a devastating impact on Kenneth’s five-year-old daughter.

“It’s horrific to watch his daughter grow up knowing she will never know the true love of a living father.

“This is any mother’s worst nightmare come true, that your child you gave birth to could be left this way and dumped like a piece of trash.”

She appealed to people with information.

“Help his daughter understand why her daddy was taken from her.”

Kenneth’s father, Brian, said: “People only become dangerous when the rest of society stand back and allow this to happen. Unfortunately, this country has got to the stage where people just turn the other way.

“It’s time people stood up for what’s right. Help the guards put these murderers behind bars.”

Inspector Ray Blake of Tallaght Garda Station said: “We are confident there are people out there who know what happened to Kenneth and they have information. We are asking them to come forward. It may be a partner, a girlfriend, a witness.”

Kenneth was last seen at High Spec Repairs, a garage, at Landy’s industrial estate in Knocklyon, south Dublin, at about 9.30am on September 22, 2009. His car, a red Honda Civic, registration 93D 44862, was found near the Gorey bypass in Wexford on September 26.

Five people have been arrested, four for murder and one for withholding information. A file was submitted to the DPP, who directed no prosecution based on the evidence gathered.

* Contact Crimestoppers on 1800 250025