Cameron strangled by young man known to him
A YOUNG man known to murder victim Cameron Reilly strangled him to death, gardaí believe.
A suspect was last night being quizzed over the murder of 18year-old Cameron at Drogheda Garda Station.
Cameron’s body was found by a dog-walker just outside the town of Dunleer, Co. Louth, on the morning of May 26.
He had spent some time socialising in Dunleer village with friends the previous evening before going to a ‘well-known green area’ where young people often gather to drink in the summertime.
Gardaí have extensively interviewed all the Dundalk Institute of Technology student’s friends and acquaintances who were socialising with him and were initially shocked that none of the large group present had any information on what may have happened to the 18-year-old student. However, senior sources say gardaí no longer believe that others witnessed his murder on the night in question.
They now believe that it was after he split from the larger group to meet his killer that he met his violent death.
The main line of inquiry is now whether the young man may have strangled Cameron over a ‘personal issue’ between the pair.
Gardaí have made a number of appeals on the whereabouts of his Apple iPhone 8X which has been missing since he was killed and which they believe could hold key information as to what happened on the night he died.
A reservoir near where Mr Reilly was found was drained in the search for the iPhone 8 Plus device, but nothing was uncovered.
Gardaí were yesterday re-interviewing up to 20 other youths who were socialising with Cameron and his alleged killer on the night in question to see if they can shed any further light on what might have happened.
Gardaí suspect that Cameron met the man who killed him without informing his friends that he was meeting the young man in another area of the park.
The suspect is being detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, at Drogheda Garda station. He can be held for 24 hours.
In recent weeks, locals have rallied together in a plea for witnesses to come forward and for information to be shared.
Cameron was known as popular young man with a wide circle of friends and studied at the nearby DKIT.
At his funeral on June 4, Fr Michael Murtagh appealed for information about Cameron’s murder.
The parish priest said: ‘Talk to each other and please if anything, even (if you have) the remotest piece of information that may help, I’d ask you please to come forward. Though the worst has happened, sometimes it is on the back of that that we see the best of human nature.’
As many as 1,000 mourners attended Cameron’s funeral in Dunleer, Co. Louth, just over a week after his body was found in a field in the quiet village.
Addressing a council meeting last week, councillor Colm Markey said it was a ‘very, very hard situation for everyone in the community’.
He said the young man ‘did no harm to anyone.’
Councillor Liam Reilly said Cameron was a ‘quiet young man’, while another councillor Pearse McGeough said it was a sad time for the family and community and he urged those with information to tell gardaí.
‘The longer it goes on, the worse it’s going to get,’ he added.
Voluntary DNA from the 20 or so of the 18-year-old’s friends and associates present on the night does ‘not link them’ to his strangulation and beating last month. ali.bracken@dailymail.ie
‘Met killer without telling friends’