‘He had it coming’ – suspect hit by car and dies after fleeing the scene of murder of sex offender

A convicted child sex offender who was killed in a frenzied stabbing at his home in Co Monaghan may have been targeted because of his offending.

Detectives are also investigating whether the suspect for the fatal attack was himself killed by a car while fleeing the scene.

Christopher Mooney (60) died in the incident at his home, while Kieran Hamill (37) died after being hit by a car nearby.

Mooney, a convicted sex offender, died from multiple suspected knife wounds at his home in Broomfield, near Castleblayney, yesterday morning.

A male relative arrived at the property at around 6.30am and made the discovery while also disturbing the suspected killer.

It is understood the suspect told the victim’s innocent relative “he (Mooney) had that coming” before running off.

The Irish Independent has learned Mooney was convicted of committing an act of gross indecency against a child around 20 years ago and served a prison term for the sexual abuse.

Gardaí are investigating if he was killed because of his previous sexual offending, but are also following other lines of inquiry to determine if he was targeted for a different reason.

A manhunt was launched after the discovery was made, but a short time later gardaí were called to a traffic collision nearby.

Hamill, of Cullaville, south Armagh, died after he was hit by a car at the Ballynacarry Bridge.

The occupants of the car, understood to be from Tyrone, were not injured but were treated for shock.

Initial inquiries were conducted at the scene and Hamill matched the description of the suspect for the murder nearby.

Gardaí believe he was the person who killed Mooney and died accidentally while making his way back to his home across the Border.

Gardaí have stressed that the investigations into the two deaths are continuing and a number of lines of inquiry are being followed.

“All indications are that these two incidents are linked and that the individual killed in the road traffic collision was involved in the earlier fatal assault,” one source close to the investigation said.

“The man killed at his house had a previous conviction for a sexual offence against a child and had already been the target of an attack a number of years ago.”

The two investigations are being conducted separately but officers are liaising due to the connections between both incidents.

Gardaí will also be seeking to establish any connection between the two men and if they had any previous interactions.

Hamill had previously come to the attention of police forces on both sides of the Border and had been investigated for violent crime by gardaí.

He was arrested and charged with assault causing harm to a woman in Dundalk last year.

Hamill had also faced charges of affray and threatening to damage a woman’s property.

He was due to appear in court in two weeks’ time in relation to one incident.

It is understood Mooney had been the target of a vigilante-type attack several years ago because of his previous offending.

Local people are trying to come to terms with the deaths, with one person saying: “It has completely rocked the community.”

The property at Knockreagh Lower, Broomfield, remained sealed off, with gardaí carrying out forensic examinations of the scene.

A garda spokesman said Mooney’s body had been “removed from the scene to the mortuary in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, where a post-mortem examination was due to take place this morning”.

Dr Linda Mulligan, of the Office of the State Pathologist, was scheduled to carry out the post-mortem examination, the results of which will determine the course of the investigation.

The garda spokesman added: “Gardaí are appealing for anyone who was in the Broomfield area between 5am and 6.45am on Thursday morning, particularly with mobile phone or dashcam footage, to contact Castleblayney garda station on 042 974 0668 or the garda confidential line on 1800 666 111.”

A similar appeal for information has been made to anyone who was travelling in the vicinity of the N53 Castleblayney to Dundalk Road yesterday morning to contact investigators.

Anyone with information in relation to that incident is being asked to contact Carrickmacross garda station on 042 969 0190, or the garda confidential line.

The Co Monaghan village where the deaths occurred is overcome by “numbness and devastation,” a local representative has said.

Aidan Campbell, Fine Gael councillor for Carrickmacross-Castleblayney municipal district, told Independent.ie: “There’s a sense of numbness and devastation.

“There’s a heartfelt sympathy with two families who are bereaved, and sympathy to whoever was driving the car and also to those from the blue lights who attended the scene.

“There’s a lot of numbness here. My sympathies go to both families.

“There’s two people deceased, and we are waiting to see what took place.

“But we have to respect families who have woken up this morning and their loved ones are gone.”