THE ONLY brother of convicted rapist Larry Murphy has made a televised appeal for him and his family to be left in peace.
Thomas Murphy, who lives in Eadestown outside of Baltinglass with his partner Helen and their children, appeared on RTE’s Saturday Night with Miriam to make his impassioned plea.
“I want to make it clear to the local people that Larry will not be living with me and my partner Helen and my kids,” Thomas said honestly.
“I have been threatened to be burnt out, numerous threats. At the moment the press, part of the press, have taken photos of my house, big headings, lies told and printed in papers. I went into Baltinglass on the Sunday after this paper was printed and I was jeered at on the street. ‘There’s the brother of Larry Murphy, the rapist.’ My kids, my partner and myself should not have to put up with this,” he added.
Larry is due for release in early August, having served over ten years for the rape and abduction of a Carlow business woman.
It has long been suggested that Murphy may have been involved in numerous high-profile cases of missing women. Even his own brother Thomas has his suspicions.
“There’s nobody gone missing (since) and I find it difficult now to believe that he wasn’t involved. I can’t put my hand on my heart and say he didn’t do it or that he did do it,” he said starkly.
Thomas also recounted the morning when his brother was arrested. He explained that he had stayed over in Bennekerry, where he and Larry had bought a house together.
“Larry’s wife Margaret rang me at 7.30am that morning in a state of shock. She said Larry was after doing something terrible. She told me what he had done. At 11am I had to go break the news to my parents. There was pure shock and disbelief but I was the only one who could do it. Nobody else knew,” he said.