Police in Ireland have warned people against sharing video footage purporting to show the torture and murder of a decapitated and disembowelled teenager.
Gardai have said they do not believe the film was that of 17-year-old Keane Mulready-Woods’s last moments – but urged people not to watch it anyway.
The youngster was kidnapped and murdered in the east coast town of Drogheda on Sunday night in what officers believe was part of a vicious gangland feud. His remains were found in various locations in Dublin on Monday and Tuesday.
One theory suggests the youngster’s severed head was going to be delivered to a rival criminal boss as a warning, but was left in the boot of a burning car instead.
Now, investigators are also working on the theory that Keane may have been murdered in revenge for the killing of Richie Carberry, 39, who was shot outside his home in nearby Bettystown in November.
A notorious 35-year-old Dublin hitman – described as a psychopath and a serial killer by officers – is reportedly a suspect.
Investigators said it should be remembered the victim was a child “trying to find his way in life”.
They are searching for the clothes Keane was last seen wearing and, on Friday, sealed off a house as a crime scene in the Rathmullen Park area of Drogheda.
The developments comes as Ireland’s prime minister condemned the brutal murder as “grotesque and gruesome”.
Leo Varadkar said the entire country had been horrified by the case, which had followed an escalation in gang violence in the region.
“It is probably the most gruesome, grotesque murder that I can think of,” he said. “To have it perpetrated against a 17-year-old is just particularly shocking to me.
“Gardai will have all the resources they need. They need to find the people who carried out this crime and make sure that they are brought to justice.
“I want to reassure the people of Drogheda in particular that we stand right behind them and I plan to get there in the next couple of days because the whole country is really shocked by this.”
