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GARDAÍ INVESTIGATING THE abduction and murder of Jastine Valdez are probing if a friend of her suspected killer, Mark Hennessy, spotted him on Sunday after alerts about his car had been sent nationwide – and then did not inform gardaí.
The body of 24-year-old accountancy student Jastine was discovered by gardaí in deep rushes just off Puck’s Castle Lane in Rathmichael, south Dublin on Monday afternoon. Gardaí believe she was strangled to death.
On Sunday night, Hennessy was shot by an armed garda in Cherrywood Business Park after a nationwide search for him concluded. It has been alleged that he had attempted to attack an unarmed garda with a Stanley blade when he was shot twice.
Gardaí are now trying to piece together what exactly happened between Saturday evening and that moment.
At around 6.15pm on Saturday, a member of the public told gardaí she had seen a young woman being bundled into a vehicle in Enniskerry, Wicklow. The car, a Nissan Qashqai, was owned by Mark Hennessy. The woman was Jastine Valdez, who was just minutes from her home at the time of the abduction.
Gardaí are currently interviewing Hennessy’s family and friends to see if they can trace his movements from that time.
TheJournal.ie understands that Hennessy was spotted on Killiney Beach on Sunday morning – the day after he allegedly killed Jastine and hours before he was shot dead during an incident with gardaí.
It is believed he was seen by a friend who had been out searching for him following the release of garda alerts. This person, it is claimed, decided to see if he could track his movements without alerting gardaí.
It is understood that he passed on this information to someone else who knew Hennessy – but not to gardaí.
Hennessy was said to have been in a severely agitated state while on the beach and the person who spotted him was concerned about what could happen if gardaí were to arrive on scene. Despite their best efforts, the person lost track of his location after about an hour.
Hennessy, who was by now wanted for questioning over Jastine’s disappearance, drove the short distance through Ballybrack, where he is originally from, and onto the N11. Members of the Civil Defence, who were also searching for Jastine, spotted the black Nissan Qashqai at what used to be the Silver Tassie pub on the Bray Road in Loughlinstown and informed gardaí.
Hennessy had been driving on the Cherrywood flyover and was heading towards the M50 when he pulled into the business park. He left the vehicle and made his way towards the boot. Gardaí spotted him acting in an erratic fashion, confronted him and a detective shot him twice.
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A separate Gsoc investigation into the use of the firearm is ongoing. This is standard procedure when a garda firearm is discharged.
A note apologising for killing Jastine was found in the car. The note also indicated to gardaí where she was buried. The handwritten words, along with GPS data retrieved from the vehicle’s on board navigation system, helped gardaí track her body.
Garda Press Office
Garda Press Office
Gardai near Rathmichael, Co Dublin. RollingNews.ie
RollingNews.ie
Photographs and videos featuring Hennessy have spread across social media since his death. In one video, he is seen speaking to two women in a pub. It had been thought this video could have been taken the night Jastine was killed but TheJournal.ie understands it depicts events from three weeks ago and the person who filmed it has spoken to gardaí.
Toxicology reports on Hennessy’s body are due today. Gardaí are trying to establish what, if any, intoxicants he had in his system when he allegedly carried out the murder.
Jastine was reported missing to gardaí by her family late on Saturday night. Her reported disappearance followed an earlier incident near Enniskerry when shortly after 6.15pm Gardaí received a report of a female pedestrian being forced into a car on the south of Enniskerry.
Gardaí yesterday said that Hennessy may have been all over south Dublin over the weekend.
Gardaí say they are “particularly interested in the movement a black Nissan Qashqai, registered number 171 D 20419, and the driver of this vehicle Mark Hennessy” between 5pm on Saturday and 8pm on Sunday.
Hennessy is described as being 5’9’’, of slight build and balding. He was wearing a dark coloured t-shirt, blue jeans and grey runners at the time.
“We would particularly like to speak with people who were in the; Dalkey, Killiney, Ballybrack, Sallynoggin, Cherrywood, Rathmichael areas. The car may have stopped at restaurants, cafes, petrol station shops or bars in those areas.
“If you travelled in this part of county Dublin between Saturday and Sunday evenings and you have a dashcam fitted please contact us and make the footage available to investigators.”
Anyone with relevant information is urged to contact Bray Garda Station on 01 666 5300, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any garda station.
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If this is true then shame on that person. It’s not like he robbed a car, he was suspected of kidnapping a young vibrant human being name Jastine Valdez! I seen another post from a person on the Journal today re an article on Jastine on how people in the community of Hennessey must of felt there was something off for years, that he was integrated into society etc. And it’s so true. We need to stop the BS. Call it out when we see. Call out bad behaviour. Call out dishonourable behaviour. Call out toxic behavioiur. As a society we are going off course at rapid pace, we need to claw it back. We need to stand up and be counted as individuals.
@icaniwont: “Call out dishonourable behaviour”? Who are you? Queen Victoria? “Call out bad behaviour”? Who are you? The moral police? “Toxic behaviour”? Gender studies student, are we?
@icaniwont: surely you’re not trying to say his neighbours are somehow guilty of something? What are you meant to report? “Guard, a fella down thge road is a bit odd!!”
@Patricia Ellis Dunne: yes because this person knew he was in trouble and told someone else instead of informing the Gardai. What if the poor girl was still alive then ?
@Siobhán Ni Mhurchú: i’m referring to him saying the community must have known there was something off about him, not the night in question or that incident
@Val Anna: A gender studies student? Lol give me a break….Call me Vic for short!! I’m actually a human being with common sense you muppet. If anyone associated to me was accused of kidnapping a young woman I sure as hell would be straight on the phone telling the authorities where they were and not ‘tracking’ them! And as for toxic behaviour etc we all turn a blind eye to people’s questionable comments/behaviour everyday in our lives from work/college/sports teams/social gatherings/on public transport because we don’t want to rock the boat. Clearly from your dramatic response you see no issue within your circle & fair play to you. I respect your opinion if you think there is nothing wrong.
@Patricia Ellis Dunne: No I’m not saying the entire community. But the Journal.ie are saying at least 2 people were tracking him and did not tell the Gardai of his whereabouts on the beach. Why was that? Like what in the name of god would stop you telling the authorities where he is? History of being protected? He is supposed to be in an agitated state after abducting a woman. For his safety & for the person tracking you’d call in the location so the professionally trained people can deal with the situation. It doesn’t add up for me.
This ‘friend’ should have notified authorities once he/she knew where he was. Especially if he was acting in an agitated state on the beach. How could someone lose track after an hour. It was well known what Hennessy did at this point. This person gave Hennessy time to escape. Dirt bag.
Surely this indicates that the friend must have known that she was already dead at this stage, or else they would have surely alerted the gardai if they thought she might have been alive. Although youd think that surely they would have alerted the gardai in any case so who knows
@COYBIG: maybe the friend was of the opinion that if a garda car was to be seen by Mark he wouldn’t go near where the girl was being held so thought he’d follow him himself to see if he went back there and could be the hero. I can understand him not calling the guards but after following him for a while it would be time to turn over the information to the gards.
That friend is in serious trouble and rightly so. Possible he could be accused as an accomplice for not informing Gardai. Morally wrong also. Hennessy could have gone on to harm someone else. Also, maybe his death could have been avoided if the Guards knew his whereabouts at an earlier stage and before the point he’d begun harming himself.
@James O’Nolan: maybe the same could be said about the gardai because as i understand it did nothing about the initial report in the morning with the eye witness report and only.considered it serious when her family reported her missing in the evening. By then she was dead. They are probably guilty of assuming it was a domestic and again makes them guilty for their lack of action in domestic cases.
@Hugh Corcoran: Really! 6:15pm saturday evening witness report. 11:20pm family reported her missing. 6:20am sunday police went to scene of suspected abduction and found her phone 12:50pm gardai issue public appeal. Is that wrong? If they went to the scene the previous evening surely they would have found her phone then.
Serious Question. How do they link his DNA to the girls missing in the Leinster area if they have never been found. – Presuming that’s what they mean when saying they are checking if he is linked to any. (Different article)Thanks
@Sean O’Shea: they can compare his DNA with close relatives of the missing women. Any DNA on his clothes or possessions would show if he had contact with a relative of the person tested. Its not conclusive proof he did something to them but it would point Gardai in a particular direction.
@Sean O’Shea: Apart from the fact the Gardai have two prime suspects for the disappearance of women from the Leinster area – one of whom disgracefully served just 10 years for attempted murder, Mark Hennessy was only in his mid to late teens during the time they vanished.
@Sean O’Shea: No need to check his DNA. They gardai and media already decided who is guilty. Just ask the dogs in the street. The mob is never wrong you know.
@Ciaran Leonard: i dont think that’s correct because of the time lapse….unless i am missing something…you’re talking about taking samples from his clothes to see if there is any forensic evidence to link him to as an example… Deirdre Jacob or Annie McCarrick…? I think any clothes he wore then would be well gone.
@Sean O’Shea: I think what I heard was that they want to check if he’s linked to any unsolved sex crimes. Not sure if it’s to check if it’s linked to the disappearance of women who have yet to be found.
Of the witnesses who saw her being bundled into a car in distress and later witnesses who saw a woman in distress banging on the car window… why did none of these witnesses follow the car? I just can’t understand this….
The friend should have immediately called the Garda after locating Hennessy on the Sunday morning. The friend knew exactly how serious the situation was and someone’s life was in either in grave danger or had already been murdered. It’s quite possible Hennessy could have been apprehended at that stage, rather than being shot and killed later on – 110% justified and agree with that course of action. Hopefully GSOC waste no time in ruling it that way. RIP Jastine.
Can’t stop saying it but my heart goes out to Miss Valdez’s family for their tragic loss.
I’m comforted in the fact that our (I mean the nation) community has rallied around the family in support and throughout the search for this poor girl.
This is an event something like we’ve never seen before, something out of a horror movie, something which I hope we never see again.
My thoughts are with the Hennessey family as well as we have to remember they didn’t kill this poor girl but will have to live with what that monster did for the rest of their lives. Forever questioning and doubting if there was anything they could have done to prevent this tragedy.
I feel sorry for both families left behind. This young woman was killed but there are 2 young kids left with the to live with knowing that it’s their father who killed her.
A tragedy for 2 families, but what is not being mentioned is the other victim, a Garda doing his job, who probably never thought that he would kill someone in the line of duty that day or any other day. I can’t even begin to imagine what he is going through, no matter how much training he has received.
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