THE FATHER OF an innocent teenager who was bludgeoned to death with an axe, 12 years ago today, has made a fresh appeal for information about his son’s murder.
Alan Hannan appealed to people in Southill in Limerick where he and his son used to live, to give statements to gardaí. He called on those who he believes witnessed the killing to come forward.
Jeffrey Hannan, who had no criminal links, was found dead on a green in the south Limerick city housing estate on 22 November, 2007.
It’’s believed he may have unwittingly found himself in the company of a criminal element as he attended a bonfire near his home.
Despite over 20 arrests being made by gardaí, no one has been charged.
The young father-of-two also suffered kicks to his body before it was dragged across a green and dumped by a wall, just a few yards from his family home.
Hannan went looking for his son that morning as he hadn’t returned home from socialising in the estate the previous night.
“He wasn’t in bed, so I got up that morning and went out looking for him, and I actually passed his body in the green area where he was found.
“I don’t think it happened to him where he was found, because there was a trail of blood going over the green area from the path. You could see the drag mark on the ground, so he wasn’t killed at the spot where he was found,” Mr Hannan said.
He identified his son’s body after gardaí had cordoned off the area as a crime scene.
I just went numb, I went into shock, I couldn’t believe what I was looking at. I can’t describe it. It’s like your heart is torn out and part of you is dead too.
Gardaí have been unable to press charges because they say they have insufficient evidence.
In 2014, despite a potentially key witness providing gardaí with information – which specifically led to the re-arrest and questioning of six people – no charges were brought.
Last July, however, gardaí established a complete review of the murder file, bringing renewed hope to the Hannan family.
“It doesn’t leave me, from the time I close my eyes at night to the time I get up in the morning, it is always there,” Hannan continued.
He said knowing who murdered his son is “like living in a hell”.
I see them probably twice a week. They pass the family and they pass Jeffrey’s daughter Nikita. It’s hard, they’re still walking the streets 12 years after. This person should be locked up.
Jeffrey “had his whole future ahead of him, he was only 19, he was always smiling, he had a heart of gold, he’d do anything for you”.
In a message to his son’s killer, he said: “You know the door is closing on you, and it’s time now to come forward and give yourself up. It’s only a matter of time. It is pointless dragging it out because you are going to be caught.”
He also has a simple message for the people he believes witnessed the murder: “It’s twelve years, it’s time to put it to bed.”
Despite the agony of the last 12 years, Hannan is committed to the “promise” he made at his son’s funeral when he said he would not rest until he got justice.
“As long as I’m alive I will keep going until I get justice. I’m letting people know I’m not going away, I’m not going to forget about this. I’m not going to give up, no matter what,” he said.
Anyone with information can contact Roxboro Road Garda Station on 061 214340 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or Crimestoppers on 1800 250 025.
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