GARDAI DIG FOR BUTCHERED RAPIST
Killer’s suicide note points to park as body burial site
GARDAI are digging in a park for the butchered remains of rapist James Nolan – after his suspected killer revealed their location in a suicide letter. The 46-year-old pervert’s severed arm washed up on Dublin’s Dollymount Strand in 2011 – but the rest of his body has never been found. Supt William Carolan said yesterday: “Recent information has come into the possession of officers indicating that this particular part of Tolka Park in Finglas is an area of interest.”
A SUSPECTED killer’s suicide note may have led gardai to dig for the butchered body of rapist James Nolan in a park.
Gardai have begun looking for the 46-year-old’s remains after his suspected killer revealed the location in a letter.
Nolan’s severed arm was washed up on Dollymount Strand in Dublin in 2011 but the rest of his body has never been found.
Officers are carrying out fresh investigations because of details left in a 21-page note which was sent to two members of the public.
It is believed that Nolan, who was from Finglas, was strangled in Glasnevin Cemetery.
His body was then brought to an address in North Dublin and dismembered. A source told the Irish Sunday Mirror that the information contained in the “extremely detailed letter” is being taken very seriously. He added: “The person who wrote these letters went into extensive detail as to where he claims Nolan’s remains are buried.
“The letters were sent to two people who then brought them to gardai.
“It’s believed that the arm that was found on Dollymount Strand in 2011 may have washed out from the river in Tolka Park.
“The person who wrote the letter, who later took his life, is believed to have been the person who killed Nolan.
“However, all avenues are being investigated thoroughly. There is the possibility that someone got this man to write the letter and make out he was responsible.”
Superintendent William Carolan from Blanchardstown Garda station appealed for anyone with information surrounding Nolan’s murder to come forward. He said at a press conference in Tolka Park yesterday: “The last confirmed sighting of Mr Nolan was in Finglas on November 30, 2010.
“On February 8, 2011 a severed human arm was found on Dollymount Beach, Dublin.
“Subsequent DNA analysis has confirmed that it was belonging to James Nolan.
“Gardai have carried out an extensive investigation since that time which remains ongoing.”
He added: “Recent information has come into the possession of officers indicating that this particular part of Tolka Park in Finglas is an area of interest.
“Gardai are commencing a significant operation in the area in Tolka Park. “The dig is expected to last up to three weeks. “Significant Garda resources are committed to this operation. The park remains open to the
public except for the area that’s cordoned off and the pedestrian entrance from North Road in Finglas at Tolka Vale. All other entrances remain open.” The senior officer urged anyone with any information to contact Finglas Garda station on 01 6667500, The Garda Confidential Line, 1800 666111 or any Garda station.” He added: “A family liaison officer is in contact with the Nolan family. “As you can appreciate it’s a live investigation and we would not comment on circumstances about the information but we are treating it very seriously. “The area is roughly about 300 metres, all of the bank and to the gate at the North Road, a substantial area. “There is a lot of scrub, undergrowth, so it’s quite difficult terrain and that’s why the three weeks time frame is being anticipated.” The officer said: “We have a highly trained search team and we have employed the services of a forensic archeologist who will guide us in the operation.
“We are also utilising the service of a cadaver dog which is a dog trained to locate human remains.
“There are other resources but they are the specialist resources we will be using.”
Nolan was jailed for 14 years in 1986 for rape and false imprisonment.
A fingerprint taken from him when he first went into custody in the 1980s led to his arrest for burglary in 2005. He was sentenced to three years in prison. Nolan was last seen when he collected methadone from a clinic in Finglas on November 30, 2010. He had been missing shortly after he was released from Portlaoise Prison. Detective Insp Paul Scott said the limb was identified using a DNA sample from the arm that matched a profile on a UK police database. The DNA had been taken after he was arrested in Holyhead in 2004 when he was found using a forged driving licence and photograph.
An inquest last year heard Nolan’s arm had been found by a man walking his dog.
State Pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy told the inquest at Dublin Coroner’s Court that the limb had been “cleanly” severed post-death using a very sharp knife.
She said his tattoos had been cut from the skin to prevent identification.
Prof Cassidy told the Coroner’s Court there was no evidence of any blood loss into the tissues indicating the rapist was dead when the cuts were made.