A former cop who probed the murder of vanished student Deirdre Jacob has hit out after the DPP ruled no charges will be brought in the case.
Notorious rapist Larry Murphy was quizzed over the disappearance of the 18-year-old who went missing yards from her home in Newbridge, Co Kildare, in July 1998.
But the DPP has decided no charges will be brought against him despite his link to the case following an alleged jailhouse confession to a cellmate.
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Murphy, 56, is alleged to have told another inmate in a drunken disclosure that he “killed Deirdre Jacob with a hammer”.
Now retired cold case detective Alan Bailey wants officers to interview all of Murphy’s former cellmates before eliminating him as a suspect.
Murphy, dubbed the Beast of Baltinglass, was freed from Arbour Hill Prison in Dublin in 2010 after serving over 10 years for rape and attempted murder.
Mr Bailey still regards him as a serious person of interest and said every person who shared a cell with him should be questioned.
He told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “As an investigator I would be extremely disappointed.
“I’m also very disappointed for Deirdre’s family. I would have been hopeful that there would have been some outcome for the family.
“The family has been denied closure again.”
“I would never write this off though as the investigation hasn’t been closed.
“I would be hopeful that the investigation will continue.”
And he suggested cops looking into Ms Jacob’s murder should now take a different approach.
He added: “If he had other cellmates they could see if he made the same statement.
Read more: Retired garda who faced down rapist Larry Murphy says he 'had the cold eyes of a killer'
“They might throw up something, you should never say never and try everything.
“Or maybe there could be more emphasis put on locating the body.”
But the former detective said that despite Murphy being seen as a primary person of interest other potential suspects should not be ruled out.
He added: “The big fear is that you put all your eggs in the one basket.
“But I don’t think the gardai have ever done that.”
A Garda spokeswoman told Irish Sunday Mirror: “As part of this investigation, a file was forwarded to the DPP and recently returned a direction of ‘no prosecution’.
“The family of Ms Jacob have been informed and are being continuously liased with.”
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