Gardaí say 1998 murder inquiry active

Gardaí today appealed for information on the unsolved murder of an 83-year-old man in Co Mayo ten years ago and insisted the investigation remained "active".

This week marks the tenth anniversary of the death of Edward Fitzmaurice, a draper who lived above his shop in Bellaghy, a village beside Charlestown on the Sligo-Mayo border.

Earlier this week, Mr Fitzmaurice’s relatives claimed they had been "effectively abandoned" by the authorities since his death and called for "credible answers" to their questions about the killing.

Mr Fitzmaurice died on May 1st, 1998 after being attacked, bound and gagged by intruders some time after 8.20pm and left to die. He was not found for five days, on May 6th, 1998. Despite an extensive investigation, no one was ever charged with the death.

Superintendent William Keaveney, who is leading the investigation, said today the aftermath of the murder “still haunts the community and the extended family of the victim”.

“We are making a fresh appeal for help and information today in order to bring some closure to this dreadful event,” he added

“We are satisfied that the information we need is out there and we earnestly hope that, even at this late stage, this appeal will jog some person’s conscience and they will make the right decision and speak to us.”

Superintendent Keaveney said Mr Fitzmaurice was well liked and respected and carried out his day to day business “in a gentle, inoffensive manner”.

“This has been a long and difficult ten years for the extended Fitzmaurice family and the only relief they will get is when the perpetrators face justice for their actions.”

He defended the Garda investigation saying it has “remained active” over the last decade. “It has been a positive and proactive investigation which has generated in excess of 900 lines of enquiry, with 830 statements being taken and over 1,000 questionnaires completed by members of the public,” he said in a statement released by the Garda Press Office.

“Despite these efforts and painstaking work, nobody has been charged in connection with this appalling crime.”

The incident room at Swinford Garda Station, Co Mayo can be contacted at 094 9252999 and people can also contact the Garda Confidential Freephone 1800 666 111 or Crimestoppers on 1800 250 025. All calls will be dealt with in confidence.

Crimestoppers in association with local businesses has offered a reward of €12,700 for information leading to the identification and prosecution of the perpetrators.

Mr Fitzmaurice’s granddaughter Audrey Snee, who lives in Britain, told The Irish Times this week that the family were left with many unanswered questions.

"It's been 10 years, 200 suspects questioned, 14 arrests, but to date, no one has been tried for the murder of my grandfather,” she said.

Ms Snee said it was obvious that gardaí had not been able to produce a credible case for prosecution, "but why not after such an exhaustive investigation into the case and so many arrests?"

Ms Snee said the family felt "especially aggrieved by the lack of information from the authorities, which have effectively abandoned us, leaving us to find out everything about the case from news reports repeated to us by friends and family. Imagine finding out gruesome details about how a loved one was left to die in a press cutting posted to you by a concerned friend, or by doing an internet search".