Saturday, 23 Nov 2024

Pictured: Convicted serial rapist Michael Murray spotted in Dublin neighbourhood

This is convicted serial rapist Michael Murray leaving a house in the Irishtown area of Dublin 4 where it is believed he has been living in recent days.

Murray (58) was jailed in 1996 for raping four women and sexually assaulting two others in south Dublin during a six-day reign of terror in September 1995.

The Herald snapped Murray as he was leaving a property on a south Dublin street early yesterday.

He was carrying a bag and lit up a cigarette as he made his way to another south Dublin property where he is thought to be doing odd jobs.

Two years ago, Murray began renting a room in a house in Goatstown, but in recent days he has been seen leaving the house on Tritonville Road in Irishtown, leading to speculation that he may have moved.

Local councillor Dermot Lacey said he would not blame people for being afraid of Murray, and said he would not like to be living beside him.

“I don’t blame people for being afraid of him, but how do you deal with the reality that there are people like him in the world?” said Cllr Lacey.

“You can’t lock people up permanently, and you can’t release them on an unsuspecting public. We have a broader responsibility to the public.

“I would be happy to be part of the conversation in what we should do in these type of situations.”

Murray has also been seen at the Goatstown address in recent days while renovations were continuing, leading to confusion about what address he is currently residing at.

The rented house where he has been living for two years has now been re-advertised looking for four new tenants to share with one existing tenant.

The house is not owner- occupied and neighbours fear Murray could move back in following the recent renovations.

The ad for the property states that only men need apply for the single rooms with a rent of €120 per week.

Read more:
Advert requesting roommate for notorious rapist Michael Murray changed to ‘men only’ after outrage

Last year, the owner was criticised for advertising rooms in the house for rent to men and women when they were aware of Murray’s criminal past.

It was later amended to state that only single men may apply to rent the room.

When he moved to the Goatstown address two years ago, local residents put up posters warning of his presence and efforts were made by them to persuade the owner of the house to evict him, but this did not happen.

At his trial at the Central Criminal Court in 1996, two of his victims told the court they thought they were going to die.

Murray’s first rapes were carried out in Dalkey, Killiney and Monkstown, but he then began to move out of the area.

His next victim was in Rathmines, when he attacked and stabbed a girl.

After days of surveillance, he was seen returning to his mother’s house and was arrested.

He admitted 13 charges out of an original indictment of 30.

He pleaded guilty to four counts of rape, two of aggravated sexual assault and seven of assault.

The assault charges related to suffocation or strangulation of his victims so he could sexually assault or rape them.

Murray also admitted charges of malicious wounding, wounding with intent to maim or disfigure, and possessing a knife with intent to intimidate.

In the Central Criminal Court, Murray was handed down 10 concurrent terms of 18 years and three concurrent terms of three years by Mr Justice Lavan, who described his crimes as “horrific”.

“Reading the statements of the six individual victims would almost render one speechless at the indignity, horror and terror they had been subjected to,” he said.

With standard remission, Murray served only 13 years and he was released in 2009.

Eighteen months before his rape conviction, he received a four-month sentence for indecently exposing himself to a five-year-old girl and a three-year-old boy after walking into the back garden of a house in Dun Laoghaire.

He also served a sentence for rape in the UK.

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