Gardaí appeal for information on 26th anniversary of Deirdre Jacob's disappearance
Deirdre disappeared near the front gates of her parents’ home in Roseberry, Newbridge, Co Kildare on the afternoon of 28 July 1998.
Gardaí are hoping a fresh appeal on the 26th anniversary of the disappearance and murder of Deirdre Jacob will stir certain people with crucial information to finally come forward.
The investigation team has made significant progress in recent years and recommended that convicted rapist Larry Murphy be charged with the murder of the 18-year-old student.
But the DPP came back in 2022 and directed against charges, much to the disappointment of investigating gardaí, who believed they had sufficient evidence.
A statement from Garda HQ on Saturday pointed out that no prosecution has been directed “to date” in relation to the murder and urged those with information to contact gardaí.
It is understood that a prosecution witness, a former prisoner who knew Murphy well, was not considered by the DPP as sufficiently convincing on his own to secure a conviction, not least given there no body has been found and a lack of DNA evidence.
Detectives believe there is at least one other person with key information about Murphy, which could push the case over the line for the DPP.
Deirdre disappeared near the front gates of her parents’ home in Roseberry, Newbridge, Co Kildare on the afternoon of July 28 1998.
The Garda statement said: “Deirdre was 18-years-old in 1998. She was a young woman starting off her life, who had just completed one year at St Mary’s University in Twickenham, London. Deirdre would be 44 years old this year.
It said that on the day she went missing, she had walked into Newbridge town to get a bank draft to send to a college friend in London for their rent deposit.
The key times are:
- 2.14pm Deirdre is observed on CTTV walking on Main Street Newbridge;
- At approximately 2.18pm Deirdre is observed in the AIB bank getting a £100 bank draft and leaves the AIB Bank a short time later;
- 2.26pm Deirdre is observed again on CCTV queuing in the Post Office Newbridge.
- 2.32pm Deirdre is observed on CCTV speaking with a friend outside the Post Office on Main Street, Newbridge;
- 2.35pm The last sighting of Deirdre, on CCTV, is recorded walking outside the PTSB Bank on Main Street, Newbridge;
Deirdre was last seen shortly after 3pm near her family home outside Newbridge.
Deirdre was 5’3” in height with a slim build. She had grey/green eyes and dark, chin-length hair.
When she went missing, she was wearing a navy, v-neck t-shirt with a white trim on the collar and sleeves, navy or black straight jeans and blue Nike runners.
She was carrying a distinctive black satchel-type bag with long shoulder straps and the word CAT in large yellow capital letters on the side. The black satchel bag has never been located.
The Garda statement said: “There has been a 26-year investigation into Deirdre’s disappearance during which significant enquiries have been carried out to establish her whereabouts and to investigate the circumstances in which she disappeared."
On the 20th anniversary of her disappearance, in 2018, gardaí confirmed that the missing person investigation had been upgraded to a murder investigation.
The statement said: “An Garda Síochána has submitted an investigation file on the murder of Deirdre Jacob to the Director of Public Prosecutions. No prosecution has been directed to date.
“The murder investigation continues to be conducted by Gardaí from the Kildare Garda District, under a Senior Investigating Officer and with the available support of other resources from An Garda Síochána including the Serious Crime Review Team, as required."
Murphy moved to England after his release from jail in 2010, where he had served 10 years for the kidnapping, rape and attempted murder of a woman in the Wicklow mountains in 2001. Only for he was disturbed during the attack, gardaí suspect Murphy would have killed the woman and buried her remains.
In July 2019, gardaí reported making significant progress in their investigation but made appeals on two lines of inquiry in order to complete their file:
- Securing the co-operation of a close associate of Murphy who had previously claimed to have incriminating information on him.
- Contacting an anonymous caller to Newbridge Garda Station who said they saw something potentially suspicious near where Ms Jacob was abducted, the day after she went missing.
Gardaí travelled to Britain in 2018 and, in the company of the London Metropolitan police, attempted to interview Murphy, but he refused to answer questions.
There was no legal basis to arrest Murphy, who is originally from Baltinglass, Co Wicklow.
The Garda Statement said: “An incident room remains in place at Kildare Garda Station and An Garda Síochána regularly update Deirdre’s parents, Michael and Bernadette and her family through a designated Family Liaison Officer.”
It added: “Deirdre’s family and Garda investigation team urge any person or persons with information in relation to the murder of Deirdre Jacob to please come forward. An Garda Síochána are reminding the public that if you have information about Deirdre’s murder, not to assume that we already know it, or that is has limited value.”
It said anyone with information in relation to this investigation should contact the investigation team at Kildare Garda Station at 045 521222, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.
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