At least 30 suspects to be questioned in murder hunt

Gardaí hunting for the killer of schoolboy Robert Holohan have a list of 30 suspects, it emerged tonight.

More than 50 detectives are following up 1,000 separate pieces of information in the in the murder investigation.

At a news conference in Cork, gardaí said the body of Robert had been found fully clothed in dense undergrowth, just feet from a road leading to Inch Strand.

His mobile phone was also discovered alongside him.

Garda Assistant Commissioner Tony Hickey said the investigation team, which also includes another 50 regular gardaí, had culled out “certain lines of inquiry”.

“We have what we loosely call suspects. We have more than 30 people at the moment who are in that category, people we are required to trace and eliminate,” he said.

Many of the suspects are people who were sighted near Robert’s home in Ballyedmond near Midleton on January 4, the day he disappeared.

However, the vast majority of the suspects are expected to be eliminated from the inquiry.

Gardaí have liased with police in Britain and other countries such as Belgium as part of their investigation. Officers were checking a number of people on the sex offenders register, as well as carrying out searches of occupied and unoccupied houses and buildings.

The post-mortem on Robert’s body was being carried out tonight by the state pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy. Gardaí were unable to confirm if the schoolchild had sustained any sexual injuries or if DNA evidence had been recovered from the scene.

Mr Hickey admitted that people in the local community were concerned at the prospect of a killer on the loose.

“Naturally there is concern. People have to be sensible at all times with children. It is important we get the perpetrator of this crime to allay that concern.”

However, Mr Hickey said that the murder of a child was extremely rare. In 40 years, there had only been three such cases – Mary Boyle from Donegal, Bernadette Connolly from Sligo and Phillip Cairns from Dublin.

He said it was possible that Robert’s killer wanted to admit his guilt and appealed for him to come forward.

The eight-day search for Robert involved thousands of volunteers from all over the country.

Mr Hickey said there had been grave concern for the fate of the boy because of his age, family circumstances and the fact he had not gone missing before.

He acknowledged there had been some criticism of the force for publicly treating the disappearance of Robert as a missing persons inquiry for eight days.

However, he said that from day one, a parallel investigation had been set up which treated the disappearance as a homicide.

“It would be foolish, it would be idiotic for us not to strongly suspect he’d been abducted or come to his death by some type of misadventure.”

He added that the sensitivities of the Holohan family, who had been hoping for their son’s safe return, had also been taken into account.

The family were informed of the latest developments last night by Midleton District Superintendent Liam Hayes. He said it had been very traumatic for the boy’s parents, Majella and Mark.

“They’re coping well, they’ve been advised by their doctors. They’re going to get through it,” he said.

Chief Superintendent of the north Cork area, Kieran McGann, made a detailed appeal for certain members of the public to contact the investigation team, including:

- Those who visited the East Cork Golf Club on the day of Robert’s disappearance, including two people who paid green fees at 11am

- Two men who visited the East Cork Driving Range on that day

- One of two men who walked through a field close to the Water Rock Golf Club in Midleton

- People in the area where Robert’s body was found who saw anything suspicious.

Gardaí were also looking for the owners of a black jeep and a silver/grey coloured jeep which was seen near the East Cork Golf Club to come forward.

Gardaí were also investigating sightings of three white vans seen between 1pm and 6pm on the day of Robert’s disappearance, including one with a red stripe on the side.

Father Billy O’Donovan who was comforting Robert’s parents said the couple had shown remarkable strength.

“They are still strong – distraught, upset – but strong. They’re doing well,” he said.

Fr O’Donovan said he had received messages of support for both parents from all over the country.

“They’re aware of the enormous support and solidarity and goodwill that’s out there for them,” he told RTÉ News.