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Kerry babies case: Man and women released without charge

Kerry babies case: Man and women released without charge

A man in his 60s, arrested in relation to the discovery of the body of a male infant at White Strand, Caherciveen, County Kerry on 14 April 1984 was released without charge.

The investigation into the death of Baby John is continuing. A file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

This comes after a woman in her 50s who was arrested by gardaí on suspicion of murder in the Kerry babies case has been released without charge.

A file will now be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

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The pair were arrested in relation to the discovery of the body of a baby boy at White Strand, Caherciveen, Co Kerry, in April 1984.

The baby, who later became known as 'Baby John', was found with multiple stab wounds.

It is understood that they were arrested in south Kerry and are from the area.

An extensive investigation into the death of Baby John has been ongoing since 2018 by gardaí in the Kerry Division supported by the Garda Serious Crime Review Team.

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Hundreds of people have been interviewed and over 560 lines of enquiry have been initiated.

On January 16th, 2018, gardaí announced a review into the death of Baby John following a garda apology to Kerry woman Joanne Hayes, who had been wrongly accused of his murder.

Ms Hayes had given birth to a baby boy, named Shane, on April 13th, 1984, on the family farm, but that child died of natural causes and was buried on the property.

In May 1984 she was arrested in connection with the death of 'Baby John'. In October of that year, all charges against Ms Hayes are dropped. She had repeatedly insisted she had no connection whatsoever to the White Strand infant, and DNA tests subsequently proved the truth of her case.

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