Gardai have warned that a man wanted in connection with three murders in France may be heading for Sligo. The Garda has issued a photograph of the man and asked anyone who sees him to contact their local station.
Mr Jacques Girardin (39) is 5'8", of slim build, with brown eyes and shoulder-length dark brown hair. He is sought in connection with the murder of a woman and her two young children at Angers in France about three weeks ago. Their bodies were not found until late last week - they had been stabbed and beaten to death.
Mr Girardin has been a frequent visitor to Sligo town where he has been convicted of minor offences. The Garda stressed there is no evidence that he has arrived in Ireland. But an Interpol bulletin to the force said he had been seeing heading from France to Britain by ferry.
Chief Supt Joe Meehan was anxious to play down some aspects of publicity surrounding the man yesterday, but he made it clear the force was very concerned and that it would apprehend Mr Girardin if he appears in the State.
"He is very well known in Sligo and if he did appear, it would become known to the gardai," he said. "But at this stage we have no evidence whatsoever to say that this gentleman is in Ireland, let alone Sligo."
The bodies of Ms Pascale Longesserre (38) and her fouryear-old son and 18-month-old daughter were found by French police in their apartment in Angers on October 2nd, but they are believed to have been dead since September 19th. Mr Girardin previously lived in Sligo, staying mainly in hostels. In 1990 he was convicted and sentenced to five years' imprisonment at Sligo Circuit Court for arson offences - he had attempted to set fire to a restaurant which refused to serve him. He served two years at Mountjoy Prison in Dublin before being deported to France.
He returned last year and was the subject of complaints from parents who saw him hanging around roads on which their children went to school. He was committed for a period to a local psychiatric institution.
The North-Western Health Board confirmed that he was referred for committal and detained at the Special Care Unit at St Columba's Psychiatric Hospital. Later in 1996, it is understood he was escorted to Rosslare Harbour by two hospital attendants and returned to France.
Chief Supt Meehan said there was no connection between the wanted man and a bag containing two knives found in the town. The bag belonged to a workman. He also denied that a woman in the town had received a threatening letter from Mr Girardin.
One woman received photographs from him of his family, which appeared to have been posted from France about two weeks ago, he said. There was no letter with them. He could not confirm reports that Mr Girardin had left a diary in France which indicated he was planning to return to Ireland.
In Sligo yesterday it was confirmed that a young woman has taken time off work from a local factory, as she fears Mr Girardin may bear a grudge against her. A manager at the factory, who wished to remain nameless, said the woman's family informed her employers she intends to "lay low" until the man is found.
Some parents of children attending St Brendan's National School, Sligo - which last year installed a £2,000 security system - have said they will not let their children return to the school until he is apprehended. The principal, Mr Brendan Mullen, said parents should be assured that "the children are safe in the school".