THE body of a man found hanging in remote woods near Midleton, Co Cork, has been identified as that of Mr Richard Laffan (28), of Castleredmond, Midleton, who was charged in 1992 with the murder of Ms Deirdre Murphy (19), a student, also of Midleton.
Ms Murphy was reported missing in September 1989. On the evening of September 13th, her body was discovered in a thicket near a stream.
She had been beaten with a blunt instrument and had suffered massive injuries. Subsequently, gardai launched a murder hunt but it was three years before a breakthrough was announced.
In March, 1992, Mr Laffan was charged with the murder. He denied the charge, and the case against him did not go ahead when a key witness was deemed not competent to give evidence. The case is now officially listed as unsolved, and no one else has been charged with Ms Murphy's murder. She was a first year student at Cork Regional Technical College.
Mr Laffan's body was discovered by a passer by on Wednesday evening in the remote woods of Ballyannon outside Midleton.
Gardai had been searching for Mr Laffan for the past three months after his failure to appear in court in connection with robbery and assault charges. The charges related to an attack on an elderly woman who was also robbed in a graveyard near Midleton prior to his disappearance. It is understood that foul play has been ruled out.