The mother of Larry Murphy, Ireland’s most notorious rapist and suspected serial killer, died yesterday.
Murphy, known as the Beast of Baltinglass, is understood to have been told that his mother passed away peacefully in Naas General Hospital.
Margaret Murphy, thought to be in her 80s, died in the hospital early yesterday morning.
It is believed she will be waked on Friday and will be laid to rest in her native Baltinglass, Co Wicklow on Saturday.
A source said: “Margaret was very elderly and she died peacefully - it is not known how close she was to her son as a number of the family had distanced themselves from him.
“It is believed that Larry is back in Ireland and living in the general Dublin area - it is understood he has a new girlfriend who is understood to be Eastern European.
“The family are very private but all of them have suffered because of Larry Murphy’s crimes - with threats and slights against them.”
Murphy has been linked to the disappearance of several young women in Ireland.
He was freed from jail in August 2010 after serving 10 years of a 15-year sentence for a brutal sex attack and attempted murder of a woman in the Wicklow mountains.
He had stalked his 28-year-old victim for a month before raping and beating her. He tried to smother her but was scared off by two hunters.
Murphy is a suspect in the case of missing women Annie McCarrick, 26, Jo Jo Dullard, 21, and 19-year-old Deirdre Jacob.
He is still seen as a threat with claimed sightings of him every few months across Ireland.
In September gardai in Ennis, Co Clare, took the unusual step of publicly stating he was not living in the town.
The Irish Mirror had tracked him down to the London borough of Waltham Forest in February, 2014.
He was hiding out in the giant city for a number of months with a mystery woman but soon decided to move on.
It is not known if he will attend the funeral.
