Interpol hunt Irishman who faked death after murder

http://www.herald.ie/world-news/interpol-hunt-irishman-who-faked-death-after-murder-2246488.html
By Cormac Murphy


Monday July 05 2010

AN IRISHMAN wanted over the murder of a student in Co Clare has been named on an Interpol list.

John Griffin (43), known as 'Fozzy', is being hunted in connection with the killing of Emer O'Loughlin (23)

Ms O'Loughlin's body was discovered in a burnt-out caravan in April, 2005, at Newline in Ballybornagh, Co Clare.

Interpol has issued an appeal for help across Europe, though it is believed he might be living in the UK.


CARAVAN

The agency said Griffin "may be in Britain after faking his death".

An arrest warrant has been issued across Europe.

The murder probe into the death of Ms O'Loughlin (23) was instigated in May after the exhumation of her remains.

The initial post-mortem examination failed to establish the cause of death but a new exam carried out recently confirmed she died violently.

Griffin went missing two weeks after the body was found and has not been seen since.

Ms O'Loughlin, originally from Ennistymon, was a full-time art student at the Galway and Mayo Institute of Technology.

She had been living in the Ballybornagh area for a few years before her death.

Her body was so badly damaged that forensic specialists were unable at first to determine whether the remains discovered in the torched caravan were male or female.

Anyone with information should contact fugitive@interpol.int or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

In 2006, gardai received information indicating that Griffin had fled to Britain.

Speaking publicly that year, Ms O'Loughlin's father Johnny pleaded for anyone with information to come forward.

"It's been a difficult year. You can't describe what it's like," he said.


CLIFF

The youngest of four children, Emer was reared by her father at the family's home at Knock- dromagh, outside Ennistymon in Co Clare.

Her parents had separated when she was very young.

Just days before Emer's murder, she was informed she had been accepted into the prestigious National College of Art and Design (NCAD) in Dublin.

Two weeks after the death, Mr Griffin's personal effects and clothing were found abandoned on a cliff edge at Dun Aengus fort at Inis Mor, one of the Aran Islands.

It was presumed at first that he had committed suicide by jumping off the 300ft cliff.

comurphy@herald.ie

- Cormac Murphy