Sheds and farmyards being searched today in murder inquiry

A number of sheds and farmyards in Ardclough between Leixlip and Celbridge,  close to where the remains of the 33-year-old Dubliner were found are being examined today.

Supt Wall said that a disused building sealed off on the Canal area  is not being treated as relevant to the murder inquiries. The property has been sealed off for the past three days.

Threatening text messages and the phone records of the murder victim are at the centre of the Garda investigation into the death of Kenneth O'Brien, a father of one.

The mechanic and JCB driver was the father of a little boy. He vanished on Friday after telling his family he was heading down the country to do some work.

They reported him missing on Saturday evening, but by then his torso had been discovered by two walkers who saw a suitcase in the canal.

Officers are working on the theory that the brutal murder may have been carried out by a man known to him whom he possibly met by arrangement, rather than gangland activity.

Gardai believe that the victim’s body was dismembered with either a chainsaw or a saw but a cause of his death has not yet been established.

His family home has been searched , Supt Gerry Wall said that they have been 'totally co-operative.'

Speaking to KildareNow, Supt Wall,said that Mr O'Brien was described as a 'quiet spoken man, who would not be seen in the pub.'

The Supt disclosed that 250 lines of investigation are being followed. He appealed for anyone was in  the Ardclough area at the time , for any reason, to contact Leixlip Garda Station on

(01) 666 7800.