Gardaí hope case of missing Philip Cairns can be solved like a Kildare murder case from 14 years ago

Gardaí investigating the disappearance of 13-year-old Dubliner Philip Cairns are hopeful of securing a conviction against someone who they believe to have murdered the schoolboy, and new evidence has narrowed the main suspect down to former DJ Eamonn 'Captain' Cooke. Philip disappeared in October 1986, prompting a massive Garda search, although the only traces of the young boy that were recovered was his schoolbag that was found close to his home in Rathfarnham six days later. A woman has now come forward and named former pirate radio operator Cooke as the murderer, and according to the Irish Independent, the woman's story is being treated as credible. Cooke, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for various sexual assault charges in 2007, died last month after being released from Arbour Hill Prison. Many aspects of the woman's story stacks up against evidence found by Gardaí, with the woman saying that she seen Philip in the radio stations belonging to Cooke in the days around his disappearance. Gardaí are hopeful of finding some closure in the case, and it was earlier compared to the case of deceased Kildare woman Phyllis Murphy. Gardaí managed to secure a conviction against army sergeant John Crerar 23 years after a blood sample taken from a detective at the time of the initial investigation was further analysed by better technology in 2002. Crerar was convicted of murder following the further examination of the evidence.