The Boy in the Attic

Fuinseog

and they tell us Dublin was much a safer place in the seventies.....

http://davidmalone.tv/publications.html

philstar

very bizzare case, heard it on liveline today ..surely people must have known about it??

any dubs on here knew about it or hear stories over the years??

phily2002

yeah heard it today as well, shocking that so few new about it...
when you think of the Jamie Bulger reaction you'd have expected the same from this...
very strange

filthymcnasty

Heard this on liveline today, was intrigued as it was a proper story as opposed to the usual bull**** on this show.

Anyway was in school in Lucan in the 90's with a bunch of lads from Palmerstown who would often go on about this story- they'd heard it from their parents or whatever.
Always in an urban myth way, no-one knew names , dates etc.

Fuinseog

philstar wrote: »

very bizzare case, heard it on liveline today ..surely people must have known about it??

any dubs on here knew about it or hear stories over the years??

it made for surreal listening. the guy is now living somewhere in Europe and works for a Christian church. two families destroyed and unless the book supplies answers the question of "why?" has yet to be answered.

I presume the house was exorcised. JD was critical of the priest removing the stolen chalice from the house.

Fuinseog

filthymcnasty wrote: »

Heard this on liveline today, was intrigued as it was a proper story as opposed to the usual bull**** on this show.

Anyway was in school in Lucan in the 90's with a bunch of lads from Palmerstown who would often go on about this story- they'd heard it from their parents or whatever.
Always in an urban myth way, no-one knew names , dates etc.

the victim was only given a death cert within the last year or two.

where the teenager found such books is a mystery.

i presume the book is out in the shops?

_blank_

What is the story?

Can't see the linked site in work

Fuinseog

Des wrote: »

What is the story?

Can't see the linked site in work

you could not make it up. try getting the JD show from yesterday online.

basically a 15 year old sacrifices a 7 year old as part of a black mass

Kintarō Hattori

Des wrote: »

What is the story?

Can't see the linked site in work

...

Ireland 1973, a very different world. But the tiny village of Palmerstown was about to lose its innocence forever.

On a bright sunny June afternoon a seven year old only child was left in the care of a teenage neighbour. No one knew, or would even have dreamed of suspecting, that that the older boy was a Satanist. The two went out to the fields to look for rabbits. The seven year old was never seen alive again.

For the first time "The Boy in the Attic" reveals the exact events of that summer day; how the innocent youngster was lured to his death, how his killer came to delve so deeply into the occult, and the nightmarish scene awaiting police when they entered the attic. But there is another equally disturbing question - how is it that this murder, which was easily the most shocking and horrific in a nation's living memory, was barely reported at all? Why have you never heard of The Boy in the Attic?

MarkR

Heard that on newstalk last week. Writer of the book had actually spoken to the killer in some european country recently.

John Mason

Des wrote: »

What is the story?

Can't see the linked site in work

I emailed it to you in a word doc

Dancor

Catholic Ireland kept it quiet.

Twee.

Wow, I'm from Palmerstown and have never heard of this case! Must ask my dad, he grew up in Palmerstown.

Fuinseog

just got the book in easons. easy to read and quite gripping.

kynzvart

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

...

My mother was born in Palmerstown in 1918, and all my relations live there,they have never heard such a story.

Fuinseog

kynzvart wrote: »

My mother was born in Palmerstown in 1918, and all my relations live there,they have never heard such a story.

the media of the time only reported that a seven year old had died. the circumstances were not revealed.

the book goes into detail. its not for the faint hearted.

latenia

There was a feature about this in the Sunday World a few weeks back. The murderer is living in London working for one of the borough councils. I was surprised to hear about it too, seeing as child murders are so rare in Ireland- even ones going back 60 or 80 years would be very well known.

crosstownk

The first I heard of this was on Liveline yesterday. I was a toddler when this happened so I don't expect to recall the events of the time but given the extraordinary circumstances I was shocked that yesterday was the first I heard of it.

It really sounds to me like a community 'hush hush'. And by all accounts the 'hush hush' was very effective.

Imagine the publicity that an event like this would attract today.

Fuinseog

crosstownk wrote: »

The first I heard of this was on Liveline yesterday. I was a toddler when this happened so I don't expect to recall the events of the time but given the extraordinary circumstances I was shocked that yesterday was the first I heard of it.

It really sounds to me like a community 'hush hush'. And by all accounts the 'hush hush' was very effective.

Imagine the publicity that an event like this would attract today.

its hardly something a community could boast about.

JuliusCaesar

Fuinseog wrote: »

the media of the time only reported that a seven year old had died. the circumstances were not revealed.

Yes, years ago the media regarded these occurrences as private tragedies, but not of wider interest. So they didn't go in for the rather nasty lets-get-into-everyones-emotions-and they'd-better-cry-on-TV, which is so prurient nowadays.

Fuinseog

I can't believe the guy who did it is still living under his real name. he is supposed to be in England and the book was published in GB.

mattjack

I went to school in Lucan in the late 80s /early 90s and can remember hearing that story.One of my classmates said he knew both families.The story was so unheard of at that time that when he recounted it,the teacher we had at the time wouldn't believe it and she was from Palmerstown.

Fuinseog

have read the book, but it did not have the cooperation of Bale and some things have gone unanswered such as why?
it is highly possible that he was in contact with satanists in meath, about whom we know nothing. how else would he get hold of detailed books on the black mass in 70s ireland?

stovelid

Fuinseog wrote: »

I can't believe the guy who did it is still living under his real name. he is supposed to be in England and the book was published in GB.

Heard he was married. I wonder does she know.

Fuinseog

stovelid wrote: »

Heard he was married. I wonder does she know.

presumably. a hell of a shock for her otherwise- "honey, I was imprisoned for a satantic ritual slaying" would not go down well after years of marriage.

fryup

Fuinseog wrote: »

have read the book, but it did not have the cooperation of Bale and some things have gone unanswered such as why?

read the book over the weekend, to me it smacks of a cynical money making exercise on the author's part

it badly written too esp the second half, he goes off on so many tangents:rolleyes: talking about the history of palmerstown, IRA prison escapes etc

it would have been better as a sunday supplement article but as a book its an unsatisfiying read (imo)

Poutbutton

Also a native of the area I grew up knowing about this awful murder. As a young child in the 70's and 80's, the story was filtered down from older kids who knew bits of it and for a long time we believed it was a tall tale. I remember 2 houses being pointed at as a child getting the bus to school in Lucan, these were known as Haunted Houses but until I asked I never knew why.
I remember finally going home and asking about it and was told a little boy had been murdered. I was told not to mind the haunted houses stories that the houses had been blessed. I was only about 8. I was 10 or 12 before I was told the actual facts. One of my parents had been to school with one of the victims parents and knew the family well. To me, it was a part of the area's history that wasn't so much hidden but rather thought of with horror and sadness for both families involved and I guess, an unspoken feeling of how it could so easily have been anyones child.
Also, because the crime was carried out by a then child (16 yrs) his name could not be published so how much further could the media go with it? Nowhere. It was being dealt with by the police, the perpetrator had owned up so when press did knock on doors they were merely told to go away there was nothing more to tell.
I heard the book was being researched about this time last year or early this year. I was too young to remember the actual events but felt angry that this author was digging up such a painful time for all involved and then making money out of it. I am still appalled at that but I suppose any true crime writer is guilty of the same thing. They weren't around when it happened, were never neighbours' of the families so don't have the same loyalty or respect for the victims as people who had first hand experience of it did and still do.
I know as children we were forbidden to go to the Swamp at the end of the field where the child was murdered. We were never allowed to walk down to the Liffey unless with a group of older siblings/friends. All the rules slowly fell away with the years and we did go searching for tadpoles in that swamp until it was built on. We did also continue to use what is now a beautiful park down to the Liffey - Waterstown Park behind Stewarts Hospital. It had ghost stories of it's own but that's normal for all areas where teenagers are concerned.
I am shocked that the murderer never changed his name and even more shocked at the short time he spent in prison. He was released at 23 yrs old, educated to degree level. That to me is not penal servitude and certainly not a life sentence.
The unfortunate victim never saw past his 7th birthday. All I can do is shake my head.

BunShopVoyeur

I'm from Palmerstown and remember hearing about this when i was growing up in the 80's / 90's.

We were never sure if it had really happened and I'd always assumed that it was an urban myth......to hear that a young boy was crucified in an attic near where you live just seemed too far fetched.

Finished the book today, would recommend it if you're interested or from the area.

the_syco

Fuinseog wrote: »

the guy is now living somewhere in Europe and works for a Christian church.

Sounds like atonement for past sins. I do wonder how much of what the author wrote in the book is true, and how much of it is what he thinks happened?

I actually had heard about this years ago, though it had added supernatural horror thanks to my father's penchant for the dramatic - he was in court the day before his wedding, some time in the late 70s (77 I believe) and this case was currently in court. He got talking to the solicitor defending the boy in question. I don't know how much of what my father told us he got from the solicitor, everyone likes a scary story after all, and how much he embellished himself! I mentioned this on boards not long ago, the fictitious additions that smack of my dad's ghost stories, and good to have spotted this thread now! That's my dad's Christmas pressie sorted this year!

MRledzepo

my mam lived live in ballyfermot at the time (beside palmerstown) she remembered rumours about it but it was all hushed away and forgotten about ?