GARDAÍ CONSIDERED the possibility that a human skull found off the coast of Lambay Island five years ago might have belonged to dismembered murder victim Farah Swaleh Noor, an inquest heard yesterday.
However, gardaí were able to eliminate the name from their inquiries and the identity of the human skull continues to remain a mystery.
Despite making exhaustive inquiries, gardaí have been unable to identify the man and, with no sign of foul play on the skull, it is impossible to establish how he died.
Det Garda Insp Patrick Marry told the court that among those missing persons investigated by gardaí was Mr Noor, the Kenyan immigrant murdered and dismembered by Linda and Charlotte Mulhall in March 2005. His head was never recovered, but gardaí were able to rule him out of their inquiries.
Seventeen men who went missing at the time in question were ruled out.
The skull was caught in the nets of the Our Tracey fishing vessel as it trawled for razor fish about half a mile from Lambay Island on February 6th, 2006. No other remains were found, despite an intensive search by Garda divers.
Staining on the teeth showed that the man, who was between 25 and 45 years old, had died six to 12 months previously.
A DNA profile was established using teeth.
However, no match was found on Interpol’s database. A 3D representation of the man’s face created by Dr Caroline Wilson of the University of Dundee generated two leads but these proved fruitless.
Det Garda Insp Marry said it was a pity that it was not possible to bring the case to a conclusion.
“Some family somewhere out there in the world is missing a loved one and it would have been nice to be able to put their minds at rest,” he said.
Coroner Dr Brian Farrell returned an open verdict.
The skull is currently held under the care of the State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy at the city morgue in Marino.
Dr Farrell will now liaise with Garda on the possible interment of the skull in a marked grave at the coroner’s plot in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin.