Man killed in Douglas house fire named as convicted killer Conor Downey

Gardaí attended the scene of the fire on Tuesday afternoon

Gardai at the scene of the fatal house fire in Douglas village, Cork. Picture; Eddie O'Hare

The man who died in a house fire in Douglas, Cork City, on Tuesday afternoon has been named locally as convicted killer Conor Downey.

The Irish Examiner understands  the 57-year-old was pronounced dead after being found in his home on Douglas Road West on Tuesday following the blaze.

Downey was jailed in 1993 for manslaughter in London after he confessed to killing 26-year-old Suzanne Redden in 1988. He said he strangled her after she withdrew consent when they were having sex. His victim’s limbs were recovered but her torso was never found.

Conor Downey, who was jailed in 1993 for manslaughter. File picture: Courtpix

He was jailed for three years in England for the killing of the Donegal woman. After he was released, he returned to Cork to live in the late 1990s.

In May 2001, Downey was arrested by gardaí in Cork in relation to the 1988 rape of a woman in Cork after he had broken in and had sexually assaulted and beaten her.

In that case, gardaí had testified the Cork woman was so badly beaten “they thought she was wearing a Halloween mask”.

In 2004, he was jailed for 12 years after a trial at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin, but was released early with remission.

The fire broke out shortly before 3:15pm on Tuesday. Three units from Cork City fire brigade responded to the fire.

Gardaí confirmed they were “at the scene of a fatal house fire that occurred at a property on the Douglas West Road”.