Gardaí think Robert knew his killer

Detectives investigating the murder of Robert Holohan are said to be all but convinced that the killer is someone known to the 11-year-old schoolboy.

Gardaí are also said to be confident that the crime will be solved and the killer brought before the courts to face the full rigours of the law.

Robert was abducted from his home near Midleton, Cork on the afternoon of January 4, and his body dumped near Inch strand, in the east of the county, where it was found on Wednesday last.

He died from asphyxiation.

As the tightly-knit community of Midleton comes to a standstill today for Robert's funeral, Garda Superintendant Kevin Donoghue has said that the response from the public has been invaluable.

He said that a huge number of calls have been received by the incident room that have produced fresh leads for detectives to investigate.

He said that the local community response has been of huge benefit to the investigation from the outset.