Thomas Murray, the convicted murderer who killed a retired schoolteacher while on parole, was questioned last week about another murder committed during another period when he was free from prison.
He was questioned last Wednesday about the murder of Galway taxi-driver Eileen Costello O'Shaughnessy, who was beaten to death outside Galway on December 1st, 1997.
In December last year, Murray (38) was convicted of murdering his former school teacher, Nancy Nolan (80), who was beaten to death with a lump-hammer at her home in Ballygar on February 14th, 2000. Murray, who was on parole at the time, had been visiting his home village and noticed Mrs Nolan in a shop. He followed her home and killed her.
A report into Mrs Nolan's murder published last week said Murray had been released despite warnings from a prison governor that he would kill again.
Murray was originally convicted of the murder of an elderly man, William Mannion, in his home village of Ballygar, Co Galway, in 1981. He was only 17 at the time but was regarded by gardai as very dangerous.
After his conviction for murdering Mrs Nolan, the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, ordered an inquiry into how Murray came to be freed from prison. That report, by Mr John Olden, was released last week and criticised the decision to free Murray.
The inquiry into Murray's murder of Mrs Nolan found that he had been freed at that time despite warnings from gardai and senior prison officials.
Gardai consistently warned that Murray should not be freed. They described him as having an "extremely violent nature and that unless he had changed his release would constitute a threat to the community".
Until now official Garda sources have denied there was any suspected connection between Murray and the murder of Ms Costello O'Shaughessy. Her murder was one of the high-profile unsolved crimes of the past decade.
However, it is understood that gardai in Galway identified Murray as a suspect almost immediately after Ms Costello O'Shaughnessy's body was found at Tinkers' Lane, outside Galway on the Tuam Road.
Murray was arrested and questioned but released when it appeared he a firm alibi placing him in a house where he was boarding.
Ms Costello O'Shaughnessy's killer drove away in her taxi, abandoning it in Galway city. Gardai were under the impression that Murray had been unable to drive as he had been committed to prison at the age of 17 and had never driven any vehicle up to that time. However, it later emerged that he was taught to drive while in prison.
It is also understood that in the past year his alibi for his movements on the night of the Costello O'Shaughessy murder has been discounted. The couple he had been staying with had left the house that evening and there is no account of Murray's movements between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. when Ms Costello O'Shaughnessy was murdered.
At the time of the murder Murray was on temporary release and was working as a labourer in Galway.