One Year Ago this weekend Larry Murphy was released from Prison: The Irish Observer has been given the opportunity to Interview convicted rapist and suspected serial killer Larry Murphy. Larry Murphy was released from Prison in August 2010 having served a 15 year sentence for the kidnap, repeated rape and attempted murder of a young business woman.
q. Larry thanks for giving me this opportunity to speak with you, can I firstly ask if you have any regrets about the crimes for which you were convicted?
a. Yes, I deeply regret the crimes that I committed and I have paid a heavy price for those crimes.
q. Many would say that you paid a very small price when compared to what you done to that innocent young woman?
a. I was brought before the courts and my peers and it was they who determined my punishment not me.
q. How were you treated in prison?
a. I was treated very well in prison, I got on well with fellow inmates and staff, and in there everyone has their own problems.
q. It has been widely speculated in certain sections of the media that you refused to assist Gardai in their investigations into the disappearance of a number of young women, is that correct?
a. If the Gardai had any evidence to connect me with any of those women they would have gone to court and secured a Section 42 Warrant for my arrest, they never did.
q. Can you understand why the Gardai would want to talk to you about those crimes?
a. No I do not, when I was in prison I meet many people who had been convicted of similar and worse crimes than my own, why would the Gardai not want to speak to them.
q. But surely your crimes were committed in an area and in a way to suggest that you could be a key suspect?
a. Personally I think the media wanted to put someone in the frame for these disappearances and as I could not defend myself they put me in the frame.
q. But surely it is the Gardai who put you in the frame and not the media?
a. I honestly don’t believe that, the Gardai were investigating serious crimes and they are entitled to keep an open mind in all these matters, the media have no open mind and by focusing on me have probably hindered the public coming forward with information about many serious crimes.
q. How do you feel about the way you were treated after you left prison in August 2010?
a. Well the fact that the State spent millions in order to keep me in prison for 12 years, but could not provide me with a secure address upon my release shows that the State cares nothing about public safety.
q. Surely you refused to cooperate with Probation and Welfare while you were in prison and that is why you were given no assistance upon your release?
a. That is total nonsense I was transferred to Arbour Hill Prison at my own request so that I could avail of what limited help that is provided to people in my situation by the Department of Justice.
q. Are you saying that you sought help while in prison?
a. That is exactly what I am saying.
q. And can you tell our readers what help is available to people in your position in the prison system?
a. There is very little help, we are constantly told that there is no money available, yet people like John O Donoghue TD could spend hundreds of thousands of Euro of tax payers’ money on luxury for himself and his wife, as far as I am concerned it is politicians like John O Donoghue who are responsible for lack of rehabilitative care in the prison system.
q. How are you living now and what hope have you for the future?
a. I am having my rent paid by the Probation Service and I get 196 Euro per week Job Seekers Allowance, at the moment I can’t see any hope for the future as I continue to be used as a scape-goat by the tabloid press, the same tabloids that make their living by sexually exploiting men, women and children every day of the week.
q. Surely you can understand that your case is of public interest and that is why the media have an interest in it?
a. Unlike many thousands of sex offenders I have been prosecuted and imprisoned, what about all the child rapists identified in the Murphy, Ryan and Ferns Reports why are the media not seeking their location, some of those people have daily access to children and continue to be protected by the Church and State.
q. Finally, can you tell our readers why you refused to cooperate with the Gardai in their investigations into the disappearance of a number of young women?
a. I have taken responsibility for my crimes, I have done my time and if the Gardai have evidence to connect me with any other crimes I am sure they will arrest and question me.
q. Many thanks Larry for giving our readers this insightful interview.
