A COURT has issued an arrest warrant for a convicted rapist whose severed arm was found on Dollymount Strand earlier this year, and whom the Garda say may have been murdered.
James Nolan (46) had failed to show up on a previous date at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to explain why he was not complying with the requirements of his post-release supervision.
Judge Yvonne Murphy heard in March that Nolan had not been seen for some time by gardaí or the Probation Service. She put the matter back until yesterday so Nolan could be tracked down.
When Nolan, of Fairlawn Road, Finglas, again failed to appear, Judge Martin Nolan issued a bench warrant for his arrest.
A severed arm was found on Dollymount Strand in February. At the end of March, it emerged that gardaí had established that the limb, which was severed at the shoulder and the wrist, was Nolan’s.
His DNA had been kept on a database in the UK following an arrest in the jurisdiction in 2008.
While no other part of Nolan’s body has been found, officers believe he was abducted and murdered before his remains were dumped at sea.
They also believe the fact the hand from the severed arm was cut off may have been an attempt to thwart Garda efforts to identify the victim using fingerprint technology.
Nolan, who had convictions for rape and burglary, had been missing since he was released from Portlaoise Prison last November. He was jailed for three years in 2009 for burglary. In 1986 he was jailed for 14 years when he was convicted of rape and false imprisonment.
Nolan’s brother, Robert Nolan, who was convicted and jailed for the same crime as his brother in 1986, said in March he believed his brother had been murdered.
He appealed then to anyone with information about the disappearance to come forward and assist gardaí with their investigation.