Gardai hold three over 2001 murder of criminal

Gardaí in Dublin investigating the 2001 murder of a Dublin criminal yesterday arrested three people for questioning in connection with the killing.

Mr Anthony Jenkinson (28) was found dead in St Anne's Park in Raheny on April 1st, 2001. He died from repeated blows to the head. At the time gardaí said he might have been killed because of a dispute over drugs money. He was beaten to death with a blunt object, possibly a wheelbrace or hammer.

Two men and a woman were arrested at 7 a.m. yesterday on the northside of Dublin. They were brought to Garda stations at Raheny, Howth and Clontarf. They were detained under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act and can be held without charge for 72 hours.

The murder victim was from Mount Olive Road in Kilbarrack, around one-and-a-half miles from where his remains were discovered lying face down by a man out walking his dog. He had been killed in the early hours of April 1st.

The victim had convictions for larceny, robbery and drugs possession. He was a petty criminal who was known for carrying out robberies in the Raheny, Clontarf and Howth areas.

As well as the possible drugs- related motive for the killing, gardaí had also explored the possibility he might have been killed during an argument over the proceeds of a robbery or because of a personal vendetta.

Mr Jenkinson was tried in January 1999 for the armed robbery of the post office in Kilbarrack shopping centre on March 22nd, 1997.

A jury was told he posed as a delivery man for a Chinese take-away and phoned the security guard working in the shopping centre to say the restaurant he worked for had food left over and would be happy to deliver.

The court heard that the security guard told him to come round and when he did Mr Jenkinson and two other men were let into the security guard's hut and brought into the office. The gang, armed with an imitation handgun and hammers, tied up and gagged the security man. When they opened the safe there was no money in it and they left empty-handed.

Mr Jenkinson was arrested and forensic tests revealed that metal shards on his clothing coincided with metal in the safe. A jury found him guilty and he was given a nine-year sentence.

The case went to the Court of Criminal Appeal where judges overturned the conviction because they found flaws in the way the jury was instructed to deal with Mr Jenkinson's identification. They ordered a retrial for February 2001 but the case collapsed when a State witness failed to turn up.