Torso of dismembered Drogheda teenager (17) identified 

The torso of a Drogheda teenager who was savagely murdered and his body dismembered has been formally identified and his heartbroken family have been notified.

It is expected that the boy’s torso will be buried with the rest of his remains in the coming weeks.

The remains have not yet been released back to his family.

Senior sources say that gardai are “relieved” that all body parts have now been retrieved.

DNA testing was completed on the body parts last week at the City Morgue in Whitehall after gardai discovered partial human remains near Rathmullen Park in Drogheda on March 11.

Officers were acting on “key intelligence” for the search operation.

Senior sources say the Drogheda feud remains “very active” and detectives are investigating an incident in the town last week where a teenager was chased and a firearm apparently produced by associates of the gang who are responsible for the teenager’s brutal murder last year.

The juvenile male cannot be named for legal reasons but his brutal murder in Drogheda and dismemberment of his body caused nationwide shock in January of last year.

Eight people have already been arrested in the massive murder investigation with two men already before the courts in relation to it.

Senior sources say that a number of other people are expected to be arrested in the coming weeks.

The remains were discovered hidden in overgrown bushes in a ravine and also under soil at the site.

The chief suspect in the case was notorious north Dublin gangster Robbie Lawlor who was shot dead last April in Belfast.

Garda intelligence had indicated that the boy’s torso was to “be delivered” to the compound of opposing gang boss Cornelius Price in Gormanston, Co Meath, after the child was dismembered as a grim warning to the now jailed gangster who was friendly with the 17-year-old murder victim.

However this did not happen after gardai became aware that the limbs of the murdered teen had been dumped in a sports bag in Darndale, north Dublin, close to the home of another bitter mob rival of Lawlor.

This led to a massive garda investigation which spooked the criminals and may have meant the torso was never moved after being dumped in the waste ground within 24 hours of the murder.

In the 14 months since the murder that shocked the nation, it is understood that the “hole” in which he was buried became exposed and animals may have interfered with the remains of the tragic 17-year-old.

The 17-year-old was murdered and dismembered at a house in Drogheda as part of a feud involving two gangs in the Co Louth town.

Partial remains, including his limbs, were found in a bag in Moatview Gardens, Coolock, on January 13 last year.

Two days later his head and hands were found in the boot of a burnt-out car at Trinity Terrace near Ballybough inDublin.

Online Editors