THE CORONER for Kerry South has confirmed some details of a story about the disappearance of a woman’s body from a house in Kenmare.
However, coroner Terence Casey, a solicitor, said he no longer knew the whereabouts of the body of an elderly English woman which had been placed in a rented house in Kenmare, in early October, apparently by her son.
According to sources, she was laid out in a bedroom of a house rented by her son. A coffin was also in the house.
The family are believed to be from the south of England and had been living in the Kenmare area for about two years. They had rented the house in the town centre in recent months.
The woman had been confined to a wheelchair. Her son, in his early 60s, was “devoted to her”, according to one local man.
Gardaí in Kenmare became aware of the presence of the woman’s body in the house on October 14th.
They informed Mr Casey, who issued what he described yesterday as “an ultimatum” that the body must either be properly buried or cremated.
It is understood the woman, who was 91, died of natural causes on September 24th while on holiday in Malta.
Mr Casey said paper work established the body was flown from Malta to Gatwick airport near London in a sealed coffin. There was proper documentation for entry to Britain. However, the body was transported to the Republic via sea port, on October 4th, without proper documentation for entry.
It is understood the man hired a motor vehicle after arriving at Gatwick with the coffin.
Mr Casey said he issued an order to the man for the proper disposal of the body and allowed him until October 18th to do so.
At that stage the body was to be confiscated by the authorities on the order of the coroner and placed into cold storage to prevent further decay.
However when gardaí arrived at the Kenmare house, on the instruction of the coroner, the body was gone and the woman’s son had left.
“I don’t know where the body is now,” Mr Casey said yesterday. Gardaí in Kenmare suspect the body is no longer in the jurisdiction.
Some local people believe the man intended to bury his mother in a private plot, or in an eco-friendly manner, but believed he would be unable to do so, then moved elsewhere.