A renewed appeal for witnesses to the death of a Dublin schoolboy killed in a suspected arson attack was issued last night on the first anniversary of the tragedy.
Detectives investigating the death of Stephen Connors (12), from Tallaght, urged a man filmed on close circuit television minutes before the outbreak of the fire that claimed Stephen's life to come forward and clear his name.
The youth died from smoke inhalation after flames gutted a make-shift pallet where he was spending the night with a friend, close to his home at Rossfield Park at around 5.20 a.m. on September 1st last year. Video footage shows a man approaching the scene and leaving in a hurry several minutes before a small explosion sets the pallet ablaze.
The officer leading the investigation, Det Insp Seamus Kane, said the individual was the chief suspect. The onus was on him to contact gardaí and explain his actions.
The CCTV footage was replayed on television last night in the hope of jogging witnesses' memories. It was initially believed the boys had started the fire by knocking over a candle. The theory was dismissed when gardaí studied the video evidence.
The victim's mother, Ms Elizabeth Connors, said yesterday she believed the suspect was being sheltered by loved ones.
She said: "I think that someone else must know - a wife, a mother, brother, son or whatever. Surely they can come forward."
Stephen's family would not come to terms with his death until someone was held responsible, Ms Connors told RTÉ radio.
She said: "He was robbed of so much. He had no chance of life. He was only 12. Even the inquest has been put off for another year because no one has been got for this. It's just dragging on and dragging on. Stephen won't rest until this is ended."
Ms Connors added: "Who was that person that night? When the fire started - what was he doing? When he was going in to the den, did he know there was kids there? Did he knock?
"If he didn't know, why doesn't he just come forward and tell us. The past 12 months has been a nightmare for me and the family and the other children. They're constantly wondering who it was. Why don't they just come forward and say what they were doing that night?"
Officers hope the public outcry over the murder of Cambridgeshire girls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman will encourage witnesses to Stephen Connors's death to volunteer information.
Insp Kane said: "Gardaí in Tallaght have received phone calls from members of the public about the death of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. But we have heard nothing about Stephen Connors. His death was no less serious or tragic."
He added: "It is possible that friends or family of the man seen on the video footage have provided him with an alibi.
"On the anniversary of Stephen's death we are asking them to examine their consciences and come to the gardaí."
A makeshift altar has been erected by Stephen's family on the site of his death.