Gardaí to question convicted rapist about missing women

Gardaí want to question Lawrence Murphy as part of their investigation into the disappearance of six women in the past ten years. Mr Murphy was jailed today for 15 years by the Central Criminal Court for the abduction, attempted murder and rape of a woman. The 36-year-old father of two from Woodfield, Baltinglass, County Wicklow pleaded guilty to all eight charges.

Detectives have cross referenced evidence from the Murphy investigation with other evidence gathered during an operation set up to investigate the disappearance of the six women along the East Coast. The women are Annie McCarrick, Jo Jo Dollard, Deirdre Jacob, Fiona Pender, Fiona Synott and Ciara Breen. Both Annie McCarrick and Deirdre Jacob went missing in the same area in which Murphy lived, worked and was captured.

Mr Murphy was not questioned about the disappearances of the six women when he was arrested for raping the businesswoman because Gardaí had focused their efforts on that investigation and securing today's conviction.

Every car or van Mr Murphy ever owned was found and forensically examined, but no links were found to connect him to the missing women. Gardaí say that their investigation into the disappearances is still very much open and will continue.

The 28-year-old women he abducted feared for her life during the attack, which lasted for a number of hours, the Central Criminal Court heard. Mr Murphy said that he did not know what came over him on the night in February last year. He stopped in a Leinster town for a bag of chips and ended up abducting a woman he had never seen before. He forced her into the boot of his car and then drove to remote wooded areas in Kildare and Wicklow and raped her. He then placed a plastic bag over her head.

The arrival of two men out lamping foxes probably saved her life. Mr Murphy fled, but the two men were able to help Gardaí identify him and he was arrested the next day. He made a statement admitting his crime.

Mr Murphy, a carpenter, is married with two sons. His youngest son is just over a year old. Mr Justice Paul Carney called the case truly horrific. He suspended the final year of the 15-year sentence.