DPP directs no charges following fresh inquiry into 1998 Deirdre Jacob murder

Convicted rapist Larry Murphy will not face criminal charges over the 1998 disappearance and murder of Kildare teenager Deirdre Jacob, The Irish Times has learned.

Garda sources have confirmed a criminal file was sent to the DPP last year and after the evidence was reviewed, it was decided not to bring criminal charges.

Garda Headquarters confirmed the outcome. “As part of this investigation a file was forward to the DPP and recently returned with a direction of ‘no prosecution’,” it said. “The family of Ms Jacob have been informed and are being continuously liaised with.”

The force added that the investigation “remains active” and that gardaí are still appealing for witnesses to come forward.

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Ms Jacob vanished from the roadside close to her family home just outside Newbridge, Co Kildare, on July 28th, 1998. The 19-year-old had gone into the town for a bank draft to pay for student accommodation in London where she was studying to become a primary school teacher. She vanished on her return home by foot and Murphy was the prime suspect.

Four years ago gardaí travelled to the UK to interview Murphy (56), who did not substantively engage with them.

Wicklow native

Originally from Baltinglass, he was released from prison in 2010 having served 10 years of a 15-year sentence for the kidnapping, rape and attempted murder of a woman in the Wicklow Mountains in 2001.

For two decades Ms Jacob’s disappearance was investigated as a missing person inquiry before being upgraded to a murder case in 2018 following a review by the Serious Crime Review Team in the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

Gardaí received information from a witness who claimed Murphy had told him he was responsible for the killing. That man claimed Murphy told him he pulled into the roadside on the pretence of asking Ms Jacob for directions and when she leaned into the vehicle to see what area he was pointing at on a map, he dragged her inside and drove off.

The witness claimed the motive for the abduction was sexual but that Murphy panicked because Ms Jacob struggled so much and he killed her immediately.

Her remains have never been found. While Garda searches were carried out as recently as last October, on lands about 15km from Newbridge in an area known as Taggartstown, nothing of value was found.