A couple arrested on suspicion of the murder of Baby John almost 40 years ago have not returned home since their release from garda custody.
The pair, a man in his 60s and a woman in her 50s, from Co Kerry, were detained last week on suspicion of the murder of the newborn whose body was found with 28 stab wounds.
They were subsequently released without charge with a file being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
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Their solicitor Padraig O’Connell said they are “totally traumatised” following the events of last week and do not feel they can return to their house.
Mr O’Connell added: “They have not gone back to their home. They feel there is a prurient interest in them and perhaps where they live.
“It’s not that they can’t, they haven’t. They choose not to, nobody is preventing them.”
Speaking after his clients’ release, Mr O’Connell said he would welcome a quick decision by State prosecutors on whether his clients would face any charges.
Sources have indicated t it could take anything from six months to a year before such a decision is made. Mr O’Connell said: “Whether locals know or not [who they are], I could not comment on that.
“They just don’t feel that they can go back at the moment. It was hugely stressful for them. When allegations of murder are made, where you are absolutely and totally denying it and you are arrested with a knock on the door, you are bound to be totally shocked.”
Mr O’Connell said the couple, who have adult children, are now waiting to be notified of the DPP’s decision whether to prosecute them or not.
He added: “DNA samples were given on a voluntary basis by both of them during the course of their detention.
“We are waiting for the DPP and we will comment further when we hear what the DPP has directed.
“The DPP will either direct a charge
or not.”
The discovery of Baby John’s lifeless body in a plastic bag on White Strand beach in Caherciveen in April 1984 sparked the Kerry Babies scandal.
The initial garda investigation focused on Joanne Hayes, who was at the time living in Abbeydorney, North Co Kerry, around 80km away.
She was arrested by the garda murder squad and wrongly accused of being the mother of Baby John.
All charges were dropped later that year and in 2020 Ms Hayes received a formal apology from the State and €2.5million in compensation.
A court heard Ms Hayes gave birth to a baby boy, Shane, on April 13, 1984, on the family farm. The infant died of natural causes and was buried on the farmland.
In 2021, the Garda Serious Crime Review team exhumed the remains of Baby John to help provide DNA testing.
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