Boyfriend of Kerry murder victim Jamey Carney detained by security services in Jordan
The photo of the late Jamey Carney that accompanied her death notice. Picture: RIP.ie
A man has been arrested in Jordan who is believed to be the boyfriend of the murdered mother-of-one Jamey Carney.
The man, understood to be Ahmad Al-Saqar, 28, was arrested by Jordan’s Public Security Directorate. He has been detained by Jordanian authorities and was not arrested on the foot of an Irish arrest warrant, a garda source said.
Mr Al-Saqar, 28, fled Ireland in the hours after Ms Carney was brutally murdered in her home off the Muckross Road in Killarney.
He was in a relationship with the US-born 43-year-old mother-of-one and had been with her on Monday evening.
He flew to Turkey on Tuesday morning and gardaí suspected he had travelled into Jordan or Syria.
Ireland does not have an extradition treaty with Jordan.
And extradition requires that a person be charged by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Mr Al-Saqar has not been charged in connection with Ms Carney’s death. But gardaí are working on the case and may bring a file to the DPP so that a charge can be brought against him.
Ms Carney was killed late on Monday night or early on Tuesday morning. She was seriously assaulted in her home, suffering injuries to her head, face and neck.
Her killer also suffocated her, covering her mouth so she could not breath or scream for help.
She died from asphyxiation.
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Her body was found before 1.30pm on Tuesday in her blood-stained bedroom by her 13-year-old daughter.
Ms Carney's bed sheets had been pulled up over her face.
Mr Al-Saqar left Killarney at about 3am on Tuesday morning on a bus to Dublin. He went to Dublin Airport and boarded a flight to Istanbul in Turkey.
He left Ireland before Ms Carney’s body had been discovered.
Gardaí have been liaising with international police forces to find Mr Al-Saqar.
Mr Al-Saqar is originally from Jordan.
On his social media, he said that he was from Al Husn, a town in northern Jordan, near the border with the Palestinian West Bank and Syria. Al Husn is also a city in northwestern Syria.
The couple met at a protest against the war in Gaza. They had been in a relationship for a number of months.
Mr Al-Saqar was applying for international protection in Ireland, and he had been living in an IPAS centre in the town.
He came to Ireland in 2024.
The Jordanians in Ireland Forum said that Ms Carney’s murder was “a brutal crime that defies all religious, human and moral value.”
“What heart could be so devoid of mercy?"
Earlier, the justice minister said that it may be difficult to get the man wanted in connection with the murder of Jamey Carney returned to Ireland.
Jim O’Callaghan said that gardaí would pursue a suspect no matter where they went and that An Garda Síochána has strong relationships with international police forces.
He said that gardaí are pursuing a “very clear line of inquiry” and the “person whom they want to speak to [had] left the country” before Ms Carney’s body was discovered.
“I know that they will be pursuing every line of inquiry to ensure that a person, if that person is charged with an offence, can be brought to justice here.”
He continued: “I'm not going to try and make it sound easy. If he's in a country where we don't have an extradition agreement, it may be difficult to get them returned.
“But that situation happened in the United Arab Emirates, and we secured an agreement with the United Arab Emirates, and we returned a person here who has been convicted of a very serious offence of organised criminal activity, and another person is incarcerated in the United Arab Emirates.”
Tánaiste Simon Harris said Irish authorities will be working "hand in glove" with foreign counterparts to ensure justice is served.
"We obviously don't comment on ongoing investigations beyond that, other than to say Ireland will be engaging intensively to ensure that justice is done in this case," Mr Harris said.
Funeral details have tonight been published for Jamey Carney.
A Requiem Mass will take place at 12pm on Wednesday in St. Mary's Cathedral, Killarney. A private cremation will take place afterwards.
A note on Rip.ie said Ms Carney, formerly of Westchester, New York, is "sadly missed by her heartbroken family, her adored and dearly loved daughter Michaela, mother Kathleen, sister Devon, cousins, relatives, neighbours and many friends especially Lily and Liga.
"Jamey is pre-deceased by her father James Carney."
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