Exclusive

BEAST RIDDLE

New CCTV images reveal mystery Larry Murphy lookalike in Kildare post office minutes before missing Deirdre Jacob

Exclusive CCTV image shows the individual inside the post office in Newbridge, Co Kildare — just nine minutes before the teen arrived to post a bank draft

• Crime Editor

• Published: 8:00, 5 Nov 2023

THIS is the first picture to be printed of the mystery man who formed part of the major investigation into the disappearance of Deirdre Jacob on July 28, 1998.

The Irish Sun on Sunday’s exclusive CCTV image shows the individual inside the post office in Newbridge, Co Kildare — just nine minutes before the teen arrived to post a bank draft.

Despite extensive inquiries over the years, the man has never been formally identified. As part of their investigation, detectives came to believe the man, who we are not identifying, bore a “striking resemblance” to monster Larry Murphy, now 58.

They also noticed how the man had entered the post office scratching his head — something the rapist did when he was nervous, pals said.

And when they examined the post office’s CCTV, they also identified a blue Fiat Punto parked across the street, which was similar to the car Murphy had access to at the time.

Following the review of the Deirdre investigation by the Garda ­Serious Crime Review Team in 2015, a decision was made to send the old VHS images to Acumé Forensic in the UK for digital enhancement.

Investigators also worked closely with special agents from the FBI’s Behavioural Science Unit as they continued to prepare their file for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Once Gardai received the results from the UK, the decision was made to reinterview Murphy’s old work colleagues and friends to see if they could positively identify the man in the CCTV image.

They weren’t told by cops that it was thought to be Murphy.

The first person to be shown the footage was an ex-work colleague of the beast on December 2,

He told gardai: “On first glance at a male in the footage, I thought that judging by the hair, the clothes and the physical appearance of the man in the footage, that it resembled Larry very much.

“The male in the footage had the hairstyle Larry always had, he was wearing a T-shirt with the distinctive long sleeves Larry always wore.

“The male is also wearing jeans and runners, which I always remember Larry wearing when I worked with him.”

‘STRONG RESEMBLANCE’

But the colleague also said: “On further examination of the CCTV footage, frame by frame, I don’t think the facial features look as much like him as I originally thought they did.

“Unfortunately, the footage just isn’t good enough to definitively say that the male in the footage was or wasn’t Larry Murphy as I remember him in 1998.”

And on January 2, 2018, officers interviewed a trader who had met Larry through his work as a ­carpenter.

He told investigators: “I believe from looking at the male in the footage that it has a very strong resemblance to Larry Murphy. The hair is the exact same.

“Larry always wore a T-shirt hanging out. The male in the footage has the same stance, the same walk as Larry Murphy. The footage is a lot clearer than the stills.

“I couldn’t be 100 per cent sure that it was him, but I’d say I’m 85 per cent sure that the male in the footage is Larry Murphy.”

And in a third interview the ­following day, cops interviewed a man who had been at Murphy’s wedding in 1994.

He said: “I would have ­considered myself to have known him fairly well, as it turns out, not at all.

‘JESUS, THAT’S HIM’

“My first impression of the side view of the man’s face was that it was very similar to Larry Murphy.

“The stance of the male in this screen is very like the stance and build of Larry Murphy.

“The clothes this male is wearing are very like what Larry would wear

— Larry was a ­runners man.”

And the man also referred to the male in the CCTV footage scratching his head, adding: “Larry was the sort of lad that never said a lot. If Larry was pricing a job and the person disagreed, he’d scratch his head in the same way the man in the CCTV does.

“It was a thing I remember about him, he often did it. If that was the only picture I saw, I would say that the person is Larry Murphy.

“Having seen more of the footage, I couldn’t conclusively say that it was him. I am 75 per cent sure the male is him.”

But when cops interviewed another ex-colleague on March 22, 2018, they replied: “Jesus, that’s him.”

The former workmate added: “I thought I knew Larry well but as it turns out, I didn’t know him at all. The physique of the male in the footage — a big strong build, the way he was carrying himself — reminded me of Larry Murphy.

“If I was a betting man, I’d have no problem putting my money on it. I’d say I am 95 per cent certain that the man in the footage is Larry Murphy as I remember him.”

MISSING DEIRDRE

At the time Deirdre vanished in 1998, cops — who took a massive 2,500 witness statements — also established Murphy had a pub and three private dwellings in Kildare.

But Gardai suffered a setback when they interviewed a man and a woman in August 2018. The man, another ex-work colleague, said “no” when asked if the man in the footage resembled Murphy.

And when a female associate was asked the same question, she said: “The man in the CCTV that was believed to be Larry Murphy is not him and I am very good at faces. I don’t believe it is him.”

Following the statements, Acumé Forensics continued with their own analysis of the CCTV and used facial recognition technology in an attempt to find a link to Murphy.

They concluded that there was “moderate support” to conclude the man in the footage was the rapist.

But in 2019, officers also showed the footage to a woman who was once close to Murphy and she denied it was him.

Once the CCTV strand of the investigation had been completed, Gardai concluded that their task had reached an “inconclusive end”.

GARDAI INVESTIGATING

Murphy had emerged as a ­suspect in Deirdre’s disappearance because of his conviction for rape, the fact he was working in the area at the time, his resemblance to the man in the CCTV, and because he had not answered his phone on two occasions when he was contacted by an estate agent after the teenager’s disappearance.

Cops were also unable to establish if he had been working in Newbridge on the day she vanished.

Another man — described as a “credible witness” — had also made a statement claiming he’d seen a person lying in the footwell of a car while a woman claimed she saw two people talking outside the missing teen’s home, but couldn’t give a description.

The statements were included in the investigation but, in 2022, the DPP ruled there was not enough evidence to bring charges.

At present, the case remains ongoing, with Deirdre’s family kept updated on any developments.

PHONE NUMBER IN GRAN SHOP

LARRY Murphy’s phone number was recovered from a shop run by Deidre Jacob’s grandmother.

But Gardai don’t believe there is a link to Deirdre disappearing in 1998.

Instead, they think the teen’s gran had the number because Murphy was selling home-made toys.

Although he worked in a pub in Newbridge at the time, he also sold toys to stores for extra cash.

One source said: “He had a legitimate reason to leave his number because he was making toys and selling them.

“He had his own job in the Kildare area, but this is something he did on the side. The theory is that he did this because he just wanted more money to go drinking.”

When putting together a ­profile on the rapist, cops established he was a “master carpenter”.

But Murphy was also seen as a “loner”.

They also established he’d travelled to the area where another missing woman, JoJo Dullard, was last seen alive in 1995.

2017.