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Larry Murphy

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TD892
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« on: November 29, 2012, 03:27:54 pm »

HUNT LODGE 800M FROM **** SCENE

Could this have been Larry's Lair?
THIS eerie hunting lodge buried deep in a lonely woods could be straight from the set of a horror movie. But today the Sunday World can reveal that the abandoned hut in the wilds of west Wicklow is at the centre of a new cold case probe into Ireland's most feared predator, Larry Murphy. Gardai have begun investigating possible links between the lodge and the suspected serial killer who is now a free man.

Chillingly, it lies at the end of a road just 800 METRES from where Beast of Baltinglass Murphy raped and tried to murder a terrified woman. A Sunday World investigation has found that the location and its significance may have been overlooked by earlier inquiries into Murphy's possible links to other missing women cases. It has only emerged now after an academic study by a forensic scientist who scoured the countryside while studying Murphy's crimes.



The highly qualified expert was researching the possible links between Ireland's missing women in his spare time and became convinced prime suspect Murphy chose the remote spot where he attempted to kill his victim for a specific reason.

"From very early on I was of the view that there was great significance in the location," said the scientist, who asked not to be named, said. "The cartography supports that."

A map shows the proximity between the scene of Murphy's horrific attack at a local landmark known as Bridget's Headstone, the hut and his family home in Woodside. The scientist, who has a specialised interest in missing persons, has spoken to gardai about his findings and they are now hoping to interview whoever built the structure and find out if Murphy - a keen hunter and a carpenter by trade - is linked to the den or ever used it.



The frail, wheelchair-bound owner of the land where the hut was built told the scientist that the lodge was built by "a neighbour". But he denied that the neighbour was Larry Murphy when questioned by the Sunday World.

Ignatz Graf (Count) von Westerholt, who is due to be interviewed by gardai, said, "We have nothing to contribute", when approached at his Kilranelagh home. He would not clarify which neighbour built it, refusing to comment any further, saying only, "no, no, no" when asked more questions. In correspondence with the scientist, the Count, who grows Christmas trees, claimed that the hut was built 20 years ago in 1991 for clay pigeon shooting. While it is still clearly being used by occasional hunters, at one time up to about 10 years ago it was well maintained with running water, electricity, a stove and a toilet.

Ireland's worst spate of unsolved vanishings began in 1993 when American student Annie McCarrick went missing after getting a bus to Enniskerry in east Wicklow, and abruptly ended when Murphy was jailed over 10 years ago. The hut - two miles from his home and 800 metres from his attack site - was well maintained during those years but seems to have fallen into disrepair now.

Suffocate


Cops will now try to discover if the evil rapist knew of its whereabouts and ever used it. If links can be discovered it could be the subject of searches and x-ray probes. It's situated at the end of a dirt track into forestry beside which Larry was caught red-handed trying to suffocate his victim with a plastic bag. Dense trees are planted in a circle around it, disguising the lodge completely from view in summer.

The independent researcher who stumbled across it said he believes Larry intended to bring the victim who had a miracle escape from his clutches to the hut.

"It's important to consider the hut and the road, not as they are, but as they were," he said.

"The hut may be in a state of disrepair today. But some time back it was very cosy, having a wood-burning stove, running water, a
flush toilet and electricity."



The scientist lives abroad but said the lodge has a stove, and a woodpile of chopped logs. A carpenter's offcuts sit at the ready in a handcrafted basket alongside. Even the floors been expertly fitted.There are two sinks which once had running water and a flush toilet with a septic tank. Windows have even been fitted in the secluded, almost inaccessible refuge with a shooting gallery out front.
Hunters

RIDDLE: Cops may probe property further

RIDDLE: Cops may probe property further
The hut, 21 foot wide by 10 foot deep with an eight-foot deep shooting gallery out front, is not secure - anyone could come or go under the cover of night or day without ever being noticed. Bright clay pigeons scatter the floor and a drum of lactic acid - for skinning deer - sits on a workbench, suggesting it is still used by hunters today despite its ramshackle state. There are old mugs in the inbuilt presses, and cleaning agents under the sink.

The short walk between the crime scene, Larry's car, and the hut in Kilranelagh is blocked by a low pole that stops cars from driving past it - the spot where Larry parked his Fiat Punto in February 2000. Five hunter's game-watch towers - one fallen - are peppered along the eerie walk to the out-of-the-way hut. Larry's hunting background was a source of real concern on the morning of his arrest for gardai who approached his home - because he was entitled to keep weapons there.

In February 2000, the father-of-two drove a 28-year-old businesswoman he'd abducted from a public car park to this middle-of-nowhere spot. After raping her again within a short walk of the hut, he tried to kill her before he was miraculously interrupted by two hunters who saw a naked woman's legs jutting out of the boot of his car.



SINISTER: Drum of acid for skinning deer

"The most significant aspect of Larry Murphy's behaviour on the night of the rescue was the length and actual direction of the journey taken," the forensic scientist claimed.

"Taking his victim firstly to a place he knows well - 15 kilometres from the abduction site [to Beaconstown] and then another 25 kilometres to a place he knows even better [Kilranelagh], which is very close to his home, tells me that he can only function in his comfort zone. He has to feel safe."

The scientist said he found the hut "surreal" when he first saw the shack, because it is so out of the way.

"After countless hours looking at recent and historic maps, I concluded that a boots-on-the-ground approach was required," the scientist explained.

So meticulous was his research, he even attempted to establish exactly how long it's been since the lodge was properly tended by having the vegetation analysed.

"Based on the condition of the hut, my guess is that it has not been used for a decade or so."

The scientist states that crucial forensic evidence could still be found by gardai, if anything more sinister occurred in the hideout.

"Human hair is very robust and all the missing women had medium to long hair," the independent researcher said.
Splatter



 Building has not been used in a long time


"If anything resulting in blood staining splatter happened in the hut, the evidence should still be recoverable.

Murphy's home, Woodside, where his wife and children lived, is less than two miles away from the lodge as the crow flies. By road, it's between four and five kilometres. Murphy was released last year and escaped pursuing gardai and media by jumping from a taxi down Dublin's Grafton Street. His last known location was Barcelona but there are regular rumours of him being sighted in Ireland since he returned home earlier this year. He's the prime suspect in the cases of three of the missing women - including 19-year-old student Deirdre Jacob and 21-year-old Jo Jo Dullard

http://www.sundayworld.com/columnists/sw-irish-crime.php?aid=9676
« Last Edit: November 29, 2012, 03:31:31 pm by TD892 » Report Spam   Report to moderator   Logged
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