Members of the Price-Maguire Organised Crime gang have been named responsible for carrying out the double murder of William Maughan and Anastasija Varslavane.
Tragic Willie, 34, and his pregnant Latvian girlfriend Anastasija, 21, were last seen alive at Rockleigh House, Gormanston, Co Meath “in a property belonging to feared criminal Cornelius Price”. Gardai suspect that they were abducted and murdered by the gang after they went missing on April 14, 2015. No trace of their remains have been found.
It is understood they were preparing to leave the compound to start a new life when they were killed. Associates of paralysed Drogheda mob boss Owen Maguire and feared Price – who is seriously ill in the UK with limbic encephalitis – have always been suspected of the horror murders of Willie and Anastasija.
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But now, a top detective has named the crime gang as those who carried out the double murder – in order to protect their drug distribution business.
In an affidavit filed with the High Court as part of a Criminal Assets Bureau case against mobster Owen Maguire and his brother Brendan, a Garda Detective Inspector said: “It is my belief that members of the Price-Maguire OGC carried out the double murder.
“Both William and Anastasija were last seen alive at a property belonging to Mr Price.”
The top detective alleged their murders were committed “in order to protect their [Price-Maguire OCG’s] drug distribution business.”
So far five people – including a woman – have been arrested and quizzed over the murders of Willie and Anastasija, but no one has yet been charged with their murders. Price’s mob are also the chief suspects for the unsolved murder of Benny Whitehouse and Price was previously arrested in connection with this alleged crime.
Mr Whitehouse was shot dead at Clonard Street, Balbriggan, on September 25, 2014 as part of a separate feud – in front of his partner having just dropped their child to school. Martin Moran, described in the top detective’s affidavit as “a close criminal associate of the Maguires”, was also arrested in connection with Whitehouse’s murder.
“It is believed by investigating gardai that Martin Moran drove the getaway vehicle after the murder. The vehicle was set on fire days afterwards in Ardee, Co Louth,” the detective’s affidavit stated.
The CAB case against Owen and his brother Brendan centres around €304k in cash, two properties at St Anthony’s Park, Cement Road in Drogheda, a Rolex watch, a Ford Transit van and a Mercedes car.
Both Owen and Brendan – who has been described in the affidavit as “a person of significant strength and is the person that collects the money owed for drugs or uses intimidation when required” – survived being shot in separate attempted murder incidents in 2018 and 2019 respectively.
Slain serial killer Robbie Lawlor was named by the same top detective as being the shooter in the attempted murder of Owen and “gardai believe that the attempt to murder Brendan was carried out by members of the gang at war with Maguire,” the affidavit stated.
The feud has died down in recent months with members jailed or gone.
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