THE father of a Limerick teenager who was murdered 13 years ago has called for a full State inquiry into claims a Garda shredded a witness statement about the murder.
Speaking exclusively to the Limerick Post, Alan Hannan, whose son Jeffrey (19) was beaten to death with an axe, said he has twice sought a meeting with the Garda Commissioner but has received no reply.
Gardaí believe Jeffrey Hannan, a father-of-two from O’Malley Park, Southill who was found dead on a green area near his home on November 22, 2007, was an innocent victim of an unprovoked attack.
The Hannan family say they have many unanswered questions and have complained to Gardaí about a lack of progress in their investigations.
The family has also sought information from the Garda authorities, after a Garda, who had been appealing the findings of an internal probe into claims they shredded a witness statement about the Hannan murder, was no longer subject to a disciplinary hearing because they had retired from the force.
A second internal hearing was examining claims the Garda also perverted the course of justice, but this also ended when the Garda retired.
The former Garda was not involved in the Hannan murder investigation.
Alan Hannan said: “I want a full State inquiry, and if needs be, I will bring this to the attention of the European Court of Human Rights and European Court of Justice to get justice for Jeffrey”.
“I sought a meeting with Commissioner Drew Harris two years ago, and again three weeks ago, and I’ve personally heard nothing. I tried to contact the Minister for Justice but her spokesman told me she could not comment.”
Limerick Sinn Fein TD Maurice Quinlivan wrote to Commissioner Harris in early March requesting a meeting on behalf of Mr Hannan.
He received a response from Garda headquarters today informing him that an Assistant Commissioner has been instructed by Mr Harris to make contact with Deputy Quinlivan to meet him and “discuss the matters raised”.
Speaking to the Limerick Post, Deputy Quinlivan said: “The family have suffered enough now, they have lost a loved one, and it’s gone on for years, and they deserve justice.
“Obviously, I would hope that the Commissioner will meet the family to discuss what they believe is a failure to investigate this case properly.”
Alan Hannan said he had “lost confidence” in the Garda investigation into his son’s murder.
“I’m getting the run around for the past 13 years. I feel my son’s murder should have been solved 13 years ago, the dogs on the street know who murdered my son and so do the Gardaí”.
Mr Hannan said he made a statement to Gardaí in March 2019 concerning the shredded statement allegations, “and no one has come back to me about it since”.
In May 2019, Mr Hannan received a letter from Garda headquarters informing him that the matter was “receiving attention”.
Speaking today, he said: “The internal inquiries are over, and there’s nothing. I want to know what is going on. This is weighing on me and my family for 13 years.”
“I don’t sleep at night because I am wondering constantly about when is it going to be sorted out.”
“I, and at least one other witness, have given Gardaí the name of the person who killed my son. They agreed with me 100%, but they said they couldn’t do anything about it because of a lack of evidence. I’d like to remind them that a Garda was alleged to have torn up a witness statement about the murder. I’ve asked them did they take the statement again, but I got no response.”
Jeffrey Hannan’s fourteen year old daughter, Nikita, who, over the years, has made appeals for information about her father’s murder, said: “I would ask again the people with information to come forward and give my family the peace we need. We are suffering and grieving everyday.”
“We need justice, and the man who killed my father should be behind bars. He can’t be walking the streets. It’s wrong. He left my father in a grave at 19 years of age.”
“I go to counselling because I find it so hard to deal with it and I go into so much depression. I grieve so much, we are all heartbroken and that’s why we need justice.”
“The person who killed my father has laughed into our faces, and I don’t find it one bit funny. It’s not right at all, it’s disgusting. What does he find funny? I wake up every morning wishing my Dad was here.”
The Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC), which investigates claims of Garda wrongdoing, has begun a criminal investigation into the claims.
A GSOC spokesman explained, “if the alleged offence was committed while the Garda was still a serving member, a criminal investigation would be conducted by GSOC under Section 98 of the Garda Síochána Act”.
“GSOC will not be making any comment as this investigation is ongoing,” they added.
Similarly, a Garda spokesman said that they do not comment on the outcome of disciplinary investigations nor on retired members.
However, he added that the Hannan murder investigation remains active and has been the subject to a number of reviews.
Twenty people have been arrested in connection with the murder, and Gardaí continue to appeal for information.
The Hannan family made a formal complaint to the Garda Ombudsman who has informed them that “the complaint is admissible under Section 87 of the Garda Act as a criminal investigation”.
Last January, Mr Hannan outlined his concerns in an email to Justice Minister Helen McEntee.
A spokesman for the Minister replied: “The Minister hopes you will appreciate that disciplinary matters within An Garda Siochana are a matter for the Garda Commissioner, and not for the Minister, and that, in the circumstances, it would be inappropriate for the Minister to comment.”
Three detectives led by a senior Garda are conducting “a peer review” of the original investigation into the murder for the past two years.
Gardaí informed the Hannan family that they are waiting the results of advanced analysis techniques on DNA evidence recovered from the 2007 murder scene, which may help with their investigations.
