Suspect in Kyran Durnin case received death threats before taking own life

Anthony Maguire, who had been questioned by gardaí in relation to Kyran's disappearance, took his own life last week

By: irishmirror.ie

Dec 23 2024
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Suspect in Kyran Durnin case r

A suspect in the murder of Kyran Durnin who took his own life last week had received a number of death threats.

Anthony Maguire was told his home would be burned down if he didn’t leave Drogheda, Co Louth. The windows of the property were smashed before he died last week.

One neighbour said: “Anthony was a gentle giant and he was told his house would be torched if he didn’t leave the area. He was very upset and worried about his children. He loved those kids.”

During intense questioning by gardaí, Maguire insisted he had nothing to do with Kyran’s disappearance and death.

But a woman he knew told detectives that Kyran had vanished while he was being looked after by Maguire. She also claimed he provided a child who he pretended to be Kyran for meetings with social workers.

He denied any involvement in providing the decoy child and claimed the youngster was on a playdate with the woman’s other children when he was brought to a Tusla meeting.

A Garda source said: “The woman threw Anthony Maguire under a bus. He was adamant he was not involved in Kyran going missing or his murder. We believe he did get involved in the use of a decoy child pretending to be Kyran for the social workers.

“The use of this child was discovered by gardaí and not Tusla as has been previously stated. It was us who discovered Kyran had been effectively missing for over two years and raised the alarm bells, not the social workers.

“What we are dealing with is a tragic and shocking case. We are going through every moment of Kyran’s life from the day he was born and have spoken to numerous family members and other relatives who were involved in his life at different stages.

“We know when he was much younger he was looked after by another person for over a year. The alarm was raised about the risk to the children by somebody known to them when they lived in Dundalk but there was no intervention. Kyran’s disappearance could have been avoided and he’d be alive today.”

Gardaí conducted an intense search at Maguire’s house while he was being questioned but found no evidence of a body.

He did not give any explanation to detectives about what he believed happened to Kyran before he died or leave any clues about his whereabouts.

His heartbroken family have cooperated with gardaí and told them all they know.

The mother of Maguire’s children died from an overdose in 2019.

Another neighbour said: “He believed he was being blamed online by the whole of Drogheda for Kyran’s murder when it had nothing to do with him. Now we have two people dead and one body still missing. There are people who know what happened to the little fella and yet they are still covering it all up.”

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