A potential suspect in the disappearance of missing Icelandic poker player Jón Jónsson has been identified following a joint podcast series from RTÉ and Icelandic broadcaster RÚV.
The new information in the six-year-long missing persons investigation has come to light following the release of the podcast Where is Jón? and has been passed to the Jónsson family.
Mr Jónsson, 41, disappeared in Dublin while attending the Dublin Poker Festival with his partner, Kristiana Guðjónsdóttir.
He was last seen exiting the Bonnington Hotel and walking down the Swords Road past the entrance to Highfield Hospital, heading towards Collins Avenue junction on 9 February 2019.
Two separate sources independently reached out to members of the Jónsson family in 2020 to suggest Mr Jónsson had been killed by someone with criminal ties.
Mr Jónsson's stepbrother Gunnar Dan Wiium, an addiction counsellor, received a phone call from someone who said he was murdered by an individual identified as 'Alex’.
For legal reasons, the suspect's identity cannot be made public.
However, Mr Wiium was told the alleged murderer worked as a hitman and was hired to take out an Icelandic man in Dublin but killed the wrong man.
Mr Wiium then called a friend who is an ex-addict with links to the criminal underworld in Iceland. He was told 'Alex' had been living in Iceland and owed money to the Albanian mafia.
The tip was initially partially overlooked by the family until Mr Jónsson's sister, Anna Hildur Jónsdóttir, reported she had received the same information from another source close to 'Alex'.
No connection has been found between the two sources who divulged the same information regarding Mr Jónsson's fate to his family.
Ms Jónsdóttir told the Icelandic police about the incidents and they passed the information on to the gardaí.
The series producers tracked down a source close to the suspect and while they refused to go on tape, they also suspected 'Alex' had murdered Mr Jónsson because they previously spoke about a call they received from 'Alex' who said he had killed Mr Jónsson in Dublin, having mistaken him for someone else.
'Alex', the man allegedly involved in Mr Jónsson's death, reportedly flew to Dublin from Iceland just days before Mr Jónsson arrived.
To date, 'Alex' has not been interviewed by the Irish or Icelandic police, nor has a warrant been issued for his arrest and his whereabouts remain unknown.
Corroborating statements
Tips gathered throughout the series backed up the stories told to Mr Jónsson's relatives about the alleged killer and the reasoning behind his reported demise.
Sources who contacted the podcast refused to reveal their identities as they believe Mr Jónsson was murdered and fear retribution.
One anonymous source, who has been given the pseudonym 'Viktor', is a member of the Icelandic poker community.
He said people in Iceland wanted to exact revenge on a man who was attending the Dublin Poker Festival the same weekend as Mr Jónsson. It is believed Mr Jónsson was mistaken for this man.
'Viktor' said he did not recognise the alleged suspect's name but added that this did not surprise him.
He said the reported killer was unlikely to have been a member of the Icelandic poker community as Mr Jónsson was well known and would not have been mistaken for someone else.
Ms Jónsdóttir, a sister of Mr Jónsson, received a call recently from a friend with the full name of the individual known as 'Alex'.
She was also told he was a hitman who owed money to the Lithuanian mafia in Iceland.
Ms Jónsdóttir was sent a photo of the suspect that matched an image previously found by the podcast series producers.
Targeted attacks
The car of Mr Jónsson's former partner has been targeted four times since the disappearance, including a break-in and having her tyres slashed on three separate occasions.
The attacks appeared to coincide with media coverage of the story.
It happened twice in 2019 after she appeared on Irish and Icelandic media appealing for information about Mr Jónsson's location.
There were no incidents in the proceeding years while the story was largely absent from the news cycle, until a search for Mr Jónsson's remains took place in February 2024.
During this period, the story was once again widely reported.
Ms Guðjónsdóttir's car was targeted twice in three weeks. The incidents would suggest someone in Iceland wanted coverage of the case to cease.
In June 2019, Ms Guðjónsdóttir appeared on the Irish crime appeal program Crimecall.
Shortly after she received two calls from an Irish mobile number.
The first was during her time in Ireland and the second, four days later, when she returned home to Iceland.
She could hear someone on the other end, but nobody spoke.
Gardaí said they contacted the owner of the number, who said they did not remember making the calls.
Ms Guðjónsdóttir refused to believe it was merely a misdial, as a call from an Irish number to Iceland would require the correct country code.
Gardaí told her that the owner of the phone number lived near where Mr Jónsson was last seen.
Separately, a woman reported she received a threatening phone call in the summer of 2019, seemingly intended for Ms Guðjónsdóttir.
On the call, she said, a man berated her and told her if a certain family member did not fall in line, he would end up like Mr Jónsson.
The woman was confused as the family member in question was long dead, but before the man hung up, he addressed her by Mr Guðjónsdóttir's name.
She added that the call came from a convenience store on the same street where Ms Guðjónsdóttir and Mr Jónsson lived.
The shop is also in the same building as a poker club that Mr Jónsson used to frequent.
Calls for action
Garda Sergeant Damian Beakey said attitudes surrounding the case changed after two anonymous letters were obtained in 2023 - the contents of which have been deemed credible.
The notes suggested Mr Jónsson's remains could be found in a wooded area near a body of water in Santry Demesne in north Dublin.
The first anonymous letter was typed and received by Ballymun Garda Station on 31 August 2022, not far from where Mr Jónsson was last seen.
The second note was handed into a Catholic priest's house near Ballymun Garda Station on 30 August 2023.
The letters led to a search of a park in Santry Demesne, Dublin, in February 2024.
Unfortunately, no new information was recovered from this initial search.
A further search of Santry Demesne took place last October following a positive indication for human remains by a cadaver dog in training. On further inspection, the area was also ruled out.
To date, Santry Demesne has not been fully searched and areas matching the description in the notes remain untouched.
Through the podcast series, the family are now requesting that the search be completed and that all areas matching the description (between trees, near water) are thoroughly scrutinised.
Mr Jónsson's brother, David Karl Wiium, said the family was disappointed with how the initial search was conducted.
"We were under the impression that they searched the whole park with dogs. I believe they did not," he said.
Mr Wiium said: "We were under the impression that divers went into the lake. I believe they did not, so in my opinion, and I believe most of us feel the same way - we want and we need the park searched thoroughly."
Gardaí said the investigation is now being treated more like a criminal investigation than a missing person inquiry.
The Jónsson family are also calling on the authorities to officially upgrade the case to a murder or criminal investigation to free up funding, manpower and resources to move the case forward.
Investigation remains ongoing.
In response to information obtained during the podcast series, gardaí were asked whether the case will be upgraded, whether a person(s) of interest has been identified, what areas of Santry Demesne have been searched and whether further searches will take place?
In a statement, gardaí said they are continuing their public appeal for assistance tracing Mr Jónsson’s whereabouts.
It said: "The garda investigation into the disappearance of Jón has also continued over the last five years.
"The investigation to date has created over 270 jobs/ lines of enquiries and numerous statements have been taken and hours of CCTV were reviewed.
"Despite ongoing investigations and enquiries, Jón has yet to be located."
Gardaí confirmed that the investigation team received two items of anonymous correspondence, the contents of which have been assessed, and that operational searches took place in north Dublin, but yielded no further information.
"The garda investigation team are continuing to appeal to the author(s) of those correspondences to make direct contact with them. Any contact will be dealt with in the strictest confidence," it said.
"The investigation into the whereabouts of Jón Jónsson remains ongoing," it added.
No garda spokesperson was available for further comment.
In 2024, a new garda investigative team took over the case.
The Jónsson family will visit Dublin next week to meet with the garda investigative team and to appear on RTÉ’s Late Late Show on Friday, 7 March.
The final episode of Where is Jón? will be available to stream on all platforms tomorrow, 3 March.
If you have any knowledge or information on the disappearance of Jón Jonsson, please contact us immediately and in confidence via documentaries@rte.ie
Þú getur líka sent okkur línu á hvarerjon@ruv.is
You can also send us anonymous information or tips via a link on our website.
