A man who murdered a Letterkenny woman in 1988 has been found dead in a housefire in Cork.
Callous Conor Downey murdered innocent Suzanne Reddan in a London flat they shared in 1988.
She was not found until 1992 after Downey confessed to police in England that he had strangled her.
Downey served just three years in jail for the horrific murder of the young Donegal woman.
When he left jail he returned to his native Cork.
In 2004, Downey was then sentenced to 12 years in jail after being found guilty of attempted rape and indecent assault of a young woman.
Just a few months after Downey strangled Suzanne in 1988, he broke into the Cork woman’s home and attacked her as she lay sleeping.
He beat her so savagely that gardaí thought she was wearing a horror mask. He also attempted to rape and sexually assault her.
Downey was never charged with this crime and returned to Cor in the 1990s.
In 2000 however, 11 years after the sexual assault on the Cork woman, he was linked to the crime using fingerprint and DNA samples.
Superintendent Brian Calnan told the Central Criminal Court that Downey was also convicted of assaulting a doctor who had collected blood samples from him.
In January 2004 Mr Justice Kevin O’Higgins jailed Downey for 12 years. He suspended the final year of the sentence.
Downey was released form prison in November, 2011 and was living in Douglas, Co Cork.
Downey’s body was found yesterday at a house in West Douglas Street. He was aged 57.
Neighbours saw smoke coming from the house at West Douglas Street and raised the alarm at 3.20pm yesterday afternoon.
It is understood that members of Cork City Fire Brigade had to force their way into the house.
They found Mr Downey’s body in the living room. He was pronounced dead and was identified by dental records.
The fire was confined to the living room where it caused significant smoke damage.
While Downey was on the register of sex offenders, it is understood he had not come to garda attention for a number of years.
