Fire victim named as man jailed for manslaughter, Conor Downey

Olivia Kelleher

A 57-year-old man who died after a fire broke out at his home in Douglas, Co Cork on Tuesday has been named locally as Conor Downey.

Downey was jailed in 1993 in London for the manslaughter of 26-year-old Donegal woman Suzanne Reddan with whom he had been sharing a house.

Ms Reddan had been reported missing and had not been found until 1992 when Downey himself went to the police in Surrey and confessed to having killed her.

He told them they had been having consensual sex, but she had withdrawn the consent at one stage. He became angry and strangled her.

Downey also gave information to the police on the basis of which some of her body parts were recovered. He served three years for the killing of Ms Reddan and returned to Cork after his release.

In 2004, he was jailed for 12 years for attempting to rape a woman after breaking into her home while she was sleeping.

In sentencing at the Central Criminal Court Mr Justice Kevin Higgins noted that the woman who so savagely beaten when she arrived at the garda station they thought she was wearing a Halloween mask.

The second serious incident for which he was jailed also occurred in 1988.

Downey was also jailed for four years in 2003 for assault causing harm to Dr Pat Lee in June 2002. He had arrived in Dr Lee's surgery carrying a long-bladed butcher's boning knife. The knife was pointed at Dr Lee’s stomach and at his chest and he suffered cuts to his hands trying to protect himself

Dr Lee had taken a blood sample from Downey at request of the gardaí as a number of individuals were being tested during the investigation in to the murder of 22-year-old Cork woman Rachel Kiely.

The blood sample showed Downey had absolutely nothing to do with that crime. However, it implicated him in another crime.

Meanwhile, the fire at Downey's home in West Douglas in Cork broke out shortly after 3pm yesterday. It is being treated as accidental. Downey's body was removed from the property by the emergency services.

He was formally identified via his dental records. The alarm had been raised by a neighbour. It is understood the fire was contained to one room.