Solicitor of Kerry Babies couple gives insight into their arrest

The solicitor for the couple recently arrested in relation to the Kerry Babies case has shared an insight into the investigation.

Padraig O’Connell, who is based in Killarney, has been representing a man in his 60s and a woman in her 50s, following their arrest last Thursday.

The couple were arrested in connection with the Baby John case, which has been unsolved since the discovery of the infant’s body on White Strand beach in Cahersiveen in 1984.

The couple have both since been released without charge, and their file is currently being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Solicitor O’Connell has now spoken out about how it could be a “long time” before they know the outcome of his clients’ DNA tests.

“Arresting somebody on the basis of DNA is totally different to arresting somebody on suspicion of murder,” he stated.

Mr O’Connell then went on to describe his clients in detail.

“The allegation against them is from the Gardaí, yet these are people who have never been in a garda station in their life. They don’t even have penalty points,” he admitted.

“They have never even been fined for parking on a double-yellow line,” he added. "They are hard-working, extremely community-driven people who are now open to all sorts of speculation, and this is just not appropriate, in my view.” 

Mr. O’Connell also shared his dislike for how the Gardaí interviewed his clients. “They were arrested, interrogated – in what was an oppressive interrogation – then they were released,” he explained.

“They haven’t been charged, and we await hearing from the DPP, and that could take a long time – months,” he said concerningly. 

Lastly, Mr. O’Connell confirmed that the couple willingly gave their DNA samples. “They gave a sample to Gardaí voluntarily and we await the results,” he noted.

“Until such time as DNA results come back, I hold my fire, and it would be wholly wrong to do otherwise,” he concluded.