Suspect due in court as Irish police probe a double murder

Hatred is a virus sign


A man remains in custody in Ireland as gardaí (Irish police) investigate the murders of two men who detectives believe may have met their killer online. This man is due to face charges in court soon. Gardaí are conducting two separate murder inquiries after the violent deaths of Aidan Moffitt, 42, and Michael Snee, 58, in the town of Sligo.

Both men were found dead in their own homes this week, having suffered extensive injuries.

Sligo deaths
Aidan Moffitt and Michael Snee (Garda/PA)

A Homophobic attack?

Detectives are investigating a potential homophobic motive, and have issued safety advice to people using dating apps. The suspect, in his 20s, was arrested on suspicion of murder after the discovery of Snee’s body in his apartment on Connaughton Road at around 10.30pm on Tuesday 12 April.

The man, who was detained in Sligo town at around 1.45am on Wednesday, remained in custody on Thursday. Detectives can question him for a total of 24 hours, excluding breaks. Moffitt’s body was discovered in his house in Cartron Heights at around 8.30pm on Monday.

Related articles

Read on...

Sligo deaths
Gardaí remove the body of Michael Snee from his home in Sligo (Niall Carson/PA)

Not the first time

Responding to these horrific murders, people took to social media to remind us this would hardly be the first brutal attack on the LGBTQI+ community in Ireland:

A third investigation

Gardaí are also investigating a third recent incident in the Sligo area as part of the murder inquiry. Speaking to the media on Wednesday, chief superintendent Aidan Glacken said the gardaí were keeping an “open mind” about motivation. He said:

We are actively investigating as to whether there is any hate-related motive to these murders,

Taoiseach (Irish premier) Micheál Martin and other government ministers have condemned the murders. LGBT Ireland – a support service for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people – has expressed shock and concern. Vigils for the two victims have been planned in Sligo and Dublin for the evening of Friday 15 April.

Featured image via – Unsplash – Jason Leung

We need your help to keep speaking the truth

Every story that you have come to us with; each injustice you have asked us to investigate; every campaign we have fought; each of your unheard voices we amplified; we do this for you. We are making a difference on your behalf.

Our fight is your fight. You’ve supported our collective struggle every time you gave us a like; and every time you shared our work across social media. Now we need you to support us with a monthly donation.

We have published nearly 2,000 articles and over 50 films in 2021. And we want to do this and more in 2022 but we don’t have enough money to go on at this pace. So, if you value our work and want us to continue then please join us and be part of The Canary family.

In return, you get:

* Advert free reading experience
* Quarterly group video call with the Editor-in-Chief
* Behind the scenes monthly e-newsletter
* 20% discount in our shop

Almost all of our spending goes to the people who make The Canary’s content. So your contribution directly supports our writers and enables us to continue to do what we do: speaking truth, powered by you. We have weathered many attempts to shut us down and silence our vital opposition to an increasingly fascist government and right-wing mainstream media.

With your help we can continue:

* Holding political and state power to account
* Advocating for the people the system marginalises
* Being a media outlet that upholds the highest standards
* Campaigning on the issues others won’t
* Putting your lives central to everything we do

We are a drop of truth in an ocean of deceit. But we can’t do this without your support. So please, can you help us continue the fight?

The Canary Support us

Related articles