Two brothers are now the suspects for the murder of missing Annie McCarrick, it has emerged.
The Irish Mirror has established that the pair are the focus of the recently upgraded murder investigation.
And we have also established that one of the brothers is suspected of attacking Annie, 27, shortly before she vanished without a trace just over 30 years ago.
READ MORE: Annie McCarrick murder probe shock as true crime doc claims she was assaulted before she vanished
It had been thought that this man was the only suspect for the murder of student teacher Annie, but sources have told us that gardai in south Dublin now fear he and his brother were involved in the murder.
“The two of them are now being looked at,” one source said. “The strongest theory now is that they were both involved in murdering her and hiding the body.”
Sources have revealed that one brother is the man who is suspected of stalking and assaulting Annie shortly before she vanished from south Dublin in March – and both have previously been spoken to by gardai. Neither man has been arrested, but officers are building a case against them.
It’s understood gardai were aware of both men shortly after Annie was last seen in a coffee shop in the Sandymount area of south Dublin on March 26,1993. Sources say both men were able to give an account of their whereabouts around the time Annie disappeared – but those accounts are now under the spotlight again.
The focus of the investigation had been in Enniskerry, in rural south County Dublin, after a sighting of her there on the day she disappeared – as well as one of her at Johnny Fox’s pub in Glencullen, around 5kms away.
Neither sighting was ever confirmed and gardai now doubt she was in that area. She was, however, caught on CCTV in a bank in the Sandymount area of central Dublin on March 26 – and that is the last confirmed sighting of her.
Sources say detectives now believe the answer to her disappearance and murder lies in and around an area in south central Dublin, including Sandymount. And that has led officers to focus in on the two brothers who would have had knowledge of that part of Dublin and also had interactions with Annie before she disappeared,
“It is a long road, but the brothers are currently the main focus,” a source confirmed.
News of the brothers being examined comes just days after a bombshell RTÉ documentary on Annie revealed that she had been stalked and assaulted before her disappearance.
The first episode of MISSING: Beyond the Vanishing Triangle on RTÉ 1 on Monday night dealt with Annie – and the ongoing probe into her mystery disappearance.
The hard-hitting documentary* *revealed Annie’s family and friends tried to highlight concerns that a man had struck her before she went missing.
But gardai involved in the original investigation told the programme the information was not brought to their attention at the time of her disappearance.
Annie’s mother Nancy McCarrick told the programme that her daughter had been having problems with a man – but did not tell her parents.
“We were totally unaware of that. She hadn’t let us know about it,” Mrs McCarrick said. “I guess she thought she could handle it herself and things would be alright,” she added.
The disappearance of Annie had been treated as a missing person’s case by gardai - but officers upgraded it to a murder probe around the 30th anniversary of her last being seen.
Eddie Carroll, the Garda Detective Superintendent in charge of the case, recently went to New York to speak to Annie’s mother Nancy – and also appealed for anyone with information to come forward.
He said: ”I want to speak to any person who met, spoke with or had any interaction with Annie McCarrick on the 26th March 1993 or subsequently.
“There are person or persons, who have information on the disappearance of Annie McCarrick and her murder on or about the 26th March 1993 and who haven’t yet spoken to Gardaí or who may have already spoken to Gardaí but were not in a position to tell everything that they know at that time.
“I want to speak with any person who has any information on the large brown handbag which it is believed that Annie was in possession of when she went missing. I am appealing to those persons, 30 years later, to please come forward and speak to the investigation team.”
And he said Nancy McCarrick – who lost her husband John several years ago – deserved to know what happened to her daughter.
He said: "The primary focus of this investigation is the victim, Annie McCarrick and her family. Annie’s father John has passed away not knowing what happened to his daughter.
“Annie’s mother Nancy deserves to know the truth, she deserves to know what happened to her daughter on or about the 26th March 1993. She is waiting 30 years for those answers.
“I, and the investigation team are determined to gather all available information/ evidence to find those answers and bring this matter to a positive conclusion.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Irishtown Garda Station on 01 6669600.
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