Minister for Justice asked to look at Imelda Keenan murder inquiry
Imelda Keenan has been missing for the past 31 years. Her family believe she was murdered.
Imelda Keenan has not been seen since she disappeared from Waterford City in 1994. She was just 22 years old at the time.
In the decades since Imelda's disappearance, the Keenan family have campaigned tirelessly to get her case upgraded to a murder investigation, which would allow gardaí more investigative liberty than what a missing persons investigation affords. Imelda’s family have always maintained that she was murdered.
Last month, the family were called to a meeting with An Garda Siochana at Waterford Garda Station. At this meeting, they received the heartbreaking news that Imelda’s case would not be upgraded to murder.
After the meeting, Gerry Keenan, Imelda's brother, said to this newspaper: “It was devastating news for the family. We are heartbroken over the system. It has let us down completely.”
The decision not to upgrade has brought into question national guidelines surrounding how missing persons cases are treated, and this week, the matter was brought to the attention of the Minister for Justice.
On Monday, January 3, 1994, Imelda Keenan, who was originally from Mountmellick in County Laois, went missing. She was living in an apartment in the city with her boyfriend at the time. The case has continued to stun and absorb the people of both Waterford and Laois.
In Laois this week, Cllr Tommy Mulligan tabled a motion asking Minister Jim O'Callaghan to "clarify any national guidance that may exist for An Garda Síochána to upgrade the cases of persons that have been treated as missing persons for substantial periods of time to murder investigations".
Speaking with the Waterford News & Star, Cllr Mulligan said: “There is a strong feeling within the Keenan family that it should be ungraded to a murder case rather than a missing person case."
"For the past 31 years the family have been seeking justice and there's been a lot of pain and heartbreak for the family. They’ve been searching for the truth for so long and they don’t seem to be getting the answers. That’s where the heartbreak and pain is for the family."
In relation to correspondence with the Minister, Cllr Mulligan said: “Whenever that correspondence comes back, we’ll pass it onto the Keenan family and then if they feel that there is strength in the response they can pursue that line of investigation again."
Anyone with information about Imelda Keenan’s disappearance is urged to contact Waterford Garda Station on (051) 305 300, or any Garda Station. You can do so confidentially via the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.
