Is student's kidnapper 'The Irish Triangle' SERIAL KILLER?

Police in Ireland are investigating whether a married father-of-two shot dead after murdering a student was a serial killer.

Mark Hennessy, 40, was killed by officers hunting for missing Jastine Valdez, 24, near Dublin on Sunday before her body was discovered on Monday. 

Investigators believe Hennessy, a surveyor, kidnapped Miss Valdez at random, strangled her, dumped her body, then phoned his wife to confess 'I've done something awful' as police closed in.

Garda sources told the Irish Times that Hennessy's DNA profile will now be checked against historic and recent disappearances to see if he is a serial killer.

As part of that review, officers will reexamine the infamous Vanishing Triangle cases of the 1990s, where a series of young women disappeared without trace over the course of five years, to see if Hennnessy could be responsible.

The victims include Fiona Pender, Deirdre Jacob, Annie McCarrick, Jo Jo Dullard, Fiona Sinnott, Eva Brennan and Ciara Breen.


Hennessy would have been aged just 16 when the first victim, Annie McCarrick, disappeared in 1993, but her case is still being included in the review. 

Hennessy's profile will also be checked against DNA evidence collected in the murder of Raonaid Murray, 17, who was killed in south Dublin in 1999, the Times says. 

Officers will also check to see if Hennessy could be responsible for any recent or historic unsolved sex crimes.

Hennessy has two infant children, the youngest aged just eight months old, and has a previous conviction for assault.

He was also in the process of being prosecuted for a drink driving charge when he was shot dead.

Neighbours recalled Hennessy as 'a quiet man' from a 'well-respected family' and said they could not believe he would be a killer.

'He was a normal fellow. He would say hello as he passed. You would never suspect anything,' one neighbour said.

Officers discovered Miss Valdez's body hidden in thick gorse near Puck's Castle on Monday after being led to the area by sat nav data downloaded from the car Hennessy was driving, the Irish Mirror reports. 

A bloodstained note was found in the car, which Hennessy was driving just before he was shot, and is now being examined.

Some outlets suggested the note helped police to find Miss Valdez's body while others reported it was a suicide note. The gardai have not commented.