It is coming up to the 22 year anniversary of this young man's disappearance in Dublin, Ireland. His family have never stopped looking for him.
My own theory is that this man was murdered by a member of a ruthless gang from Crumlin-Driminagh and specifically a member (B.R). I opine this having read up on the case and the fact that the area Trevor went missing in was an area awash with prostitution and an area where this gang operated. The unidentified figure that appears on the CCTV was well built but otherwise you can't (or can you?) see anything identifying about him. The footage is from 2000 so not great.
Here are the facts along with CCTV footage.
BACKGROUND
Back in 2000, Trevor Deely was a junior IT worker in his first full job, at the Bank of Ireland Asset Management Centre at Wilton Terrace in Dublin's south city centre. Trevor was the youngest of four in a family that lived in the commuter town of Naas, less than an hour from Dublin. He rented a room in an apartment, only 1.2 miles/2km from his workplace, in the Renoir Complex on Serpentine Avenue; sharing the flat with his older sister's friend and a friend of hers. His life by all accounts and impressions was that typical of a recently graduated young professional in the capital city- working hard and spending his wages socialising with friends and colleagues around town. However, after a night out for the BOIAM Christmas staff party, something far from typical happened, when Trevor vanished seemingly into thin air on his walk home.
THAT NIGHT OUT
On Thursday 7th Dec 2000, Trevor had been looking forward to the staff Christmas party. Finishing work at 4pm, he picked up a delivery of contact lenses that had been sent to his Dad's office nearby, before heading home to get changed. The main points of the night are as follows:
- By around 7pm, Trevor and a few colleagues were in Copper Face Jack's bar on Harcourt Street, having 'pre-drinks', before moving on to the BOIAM staff party that was at 9pm. There was dinner, drinks and a band in the Hilton Hotel for the occasion.
- At 12.28AM, a CCTV camera at an ATM near the hotel records Trevor taking out a small amount of cash, after which he went straight back to the party.
- Shortly after 2AM, Trevor and some colleagues walked from the Hilton the 10 or 15 minute walk to Buck Whaley's nightclub on Leeson Street.
- Trevor was reported to have entered Buck Whaley's approaching 2.30, and to have remained there until 3.25. This nightclub is only a 5 or 6 minute walk from Trevor's BOIAM workplace. Interestingly, in the past 2 years, numerous news reports on the case have opened the time window, saying Trevor left the club between 2.30 and 3.25- though an explanation for that change of detail remains unclear.
THE MAN IN BLACK + CAMERA 1
- This period of time being unaccounted for could be significant, as it's during that time that the figure known as The Man in Black (MIB) quite literally enters the picture. At 3.05AM, outside the back entrance to the BOIAM building where Trevor worked, a well-built individual wearing a dark jacket, dark trousers and a dark hat is first seen on a CCTV camera (the camera I'll refer to as Cam 1). On this small street along the canal- Wilton Terrace, the MIB turns up, then turns away from Cam 1 on the building, faces towards the canal, leaning his back against a pillar. He is poorly sheltered and with no umbrella, even though there was heavy rain and strong winds that night. And in spite of this he waits there for nearly half an hour.
- At 3.33.30s (three thirty three, and thirty seconds) the MIB receives a call. He stays on the phone for 15 seconds before hanging up and stepping out from the alcove and the pillar, faces up towards Leeson Street, which runs perpendicular to the canal. At 3.34.11 Trevor enters CAM 1, having come from the direction the MIB had been looking. From the grainy footage he appears to be on the phone and he walks straight past the MIB standing on the pavement. Trevor disappears from CAM 1 at 3.34.19. The MIB briefly waits before following out of view of CAM 1 at 3.34.35.
CAMERA 2
- CAM 2 is on the BOIAM building and faces the back gate which was often used to come and go by staff. Between CAM 1 and CAM 2 there is a blind spot of only 20ft(6m) where a wall runs. We would expect Trevor to appear on CAM 1 first but it is in fact the MIB who does so, arriving by the edge of the gate at 3.34.52. Having disappeared from CAM 1's view at 3.34.19, Trevor due to some unknown delay, doesn't show up on Cam 2 for another 42 seconds, at 3.35.01. As Trevor arrives at the gate, the MIB steps out from the edge and engages him in conversation. They talk for only 15 seconds, as Trevor searches for his keys. When that interaction ends, the MIB turns away and stays with his shoulders hunched facing away while Trevor tries to open the gate, only glancing back momentarily when Trevor opens it and enters.
- Trevor goes inside and gets the large bank-branded umbrella he'd intended to pick up for the walk home. There was a taxi strike in Dublin and the weather was horrendous, so he felt it would come in handy. His colleague Karl Pender, who was working a night shift and had not been at the Christmas party, was surprised to see Trevor but didn't notice anything unusual about his demeanour. The two had a cup of coffee together at Trevor's suggestion, and they had a general chat about the night and the party, but nothing remarkable came up. As it was a wet night and his housemates were away, perhaps Trevor just wanted some company, or to sober up slightly as he was due to work at 9 or so the following morning. Karl noticed Trevor had clearly 'had a few' but was not seriously drunk or anything.
- Not having a computer at home, after the cuppa Trevor logged on to his work one to check some emails, before setting off again. Police follow up on this would find no unusual activity on this computer. ----- (*A note- The Irish police have note released the full CCTV Footage from Cam 2 of while Trevor was inside. But two still images at 3.37.04 and 3.37.40 show two men standing at the gate beside the MIB. These men were later found to be employees of BOIAM and passing on the way back home from the night out. They were firmly ruled out as having any involvement in the case and unfortunately as they had had quite a lot to drink, they were unable to recollect the MIB or offer anything of value).
- At 4.02, Trevor reappears on CAM 2 and exits through the gate. He fiddles with the umbrella trying to get it open, then at 4.03 he walks left on Wilton Terrace along the tree-lined canal, in the direction of home.
- The final Camera (Cam 3) picks Trevor up at 4.14.22s. There is a slight delay in the expected arrival there, taking into account the 7 minute walk between Cam 2 and Cam 3. There are several reasonable explanations- the bad weather or the effects of alcohol slowing his journey, a stop to light a quick cigarette as he was a smoker, a problem with the umbrella. Or there may have been short attempt to make call. The police were able to mark the last activity on his phone at 4.06AM and Trevor's best friend Glen remembered having woken up to a voice mail message from Trevor, sent some time close to that mark. As Glen was unaware at that time that Trevor had already gone missing- and would be for a few days- he deleted what he remembered as an innocuous message along the lines of: ‘Hi, Glen, I’ve missed you there. Just on my way home, all going good, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.’ For the slightly later than expected arrival at Camera 3, there's even the possibility of the time on one of the cameras being inaccurate, as they were not digitally set like they are nowadays.
CAMERA 3
- Camera 3 is on the wall of a bank and faces up Haddington Road. For Trevor this was one of three routes home, having crossed over the canal at McCartney bridge on Lower Baggot Street. It's often been suggested going via Haddington Road would've been a significant detour, but in reality it would've only added 4 or 5 minutes onto the journey. Anyways, Trevor walks into Cam 3, along the pavement, not entirely in a straight line, with his back to the camera and umbrella overhead. Trevor Deely then disappears from view of Cam 3 at 4.14.33, and this is the last we ever see of him.
- Just 19 seconds later- at 4.14.52- a figure dressed all in black appears at the bottom of Cam 3, heading in the same direction as Trevor. This person is walking at a good pace, slightly faster than Trevor. There have been suggestions it is the same MIB from Cam 1 and 2, while others claim it is another individual, MIB 2. Either way, it is highly likely that this individual would have had Trevor in their line of vision up ahead as they were being recorded on Cam 3. The next street off Haddington Road was 260ft/80m to the left on Percy Place. However, much nearer to Cam 3 there were two alleyways- the nearest a dead end with bins etc. The next up was 200ft/65m from Cam 2- an alleyway that ran up past the back of houses towards Searson's nightclub.
- What may be significant is that less than 15 seconds after the MIB (1 or 2) disappears from view of Cam 3, a short figure, presumed to be a female and apparently on the phone, appears in Cam 3. Like MIB 1 and MIB 2, this unidentified female never came forward to police in the aftermath of Trevor's disappearance. This is in contrast to the couple who appear on Cam 3, 35 seconds after her, and told police in an interview that they had seen nothing of note on Haddington Road or in general on their walk home that night.
INVESTIGATION
Trevor was absent from work on that Friday morning of Dec 8th 2000 but his supervisor put the absence down to him feeling the after-effects of the big party the previous night and nothing was thought of it. With his housemates away and it being a time when technology and communications were very limited, it was not until Monday morning that Trevor's absence became noticeable when the usually dependable employee failed to turn up to work again. His family was contacted and as word went around throughout that day and it became apparent no one had heard from Trevor, panic and fear started to set in. I won't go into the full details here of
the trojan efforts of the Deely family and Trevor's friends to find their loved one but must mention that in their search it was they who found the extremely valuable- and soon-to-be-deleted - CCTV footage, which allows us to try and piece together the last movements of Trevor, and of those who may have interacted with him, on the night he disappeared.
THEORIES
First, I'd like to rule out some of the far more common, but in this instance, far less likely, possibilities.
Drowning -
- The canal was shallow and extensively searched by police scuba personnel.
- Bodies often float to the surface.
- Trevor's sister Michelle, who was in London, remembers- though not with 100% certainty- his phone ringing over that weekend before it eventually died. If it had gone into water on the early hours of Friday morning it would've died instantly.
- He was at least 1.5 miles/2.5km from the sea, but even so in that part of Dublin Bay a body would typically wash back in. And he was never seen anywhere near the coast.
- His large BOI umbrella or any other possessions such as his heavy coat were never located.
Random assault or mugging -
- The body was never located, in a busy area of the city. Owing to the coming visit of US President Bill Clinton, dumpsters, manholes and other areas were extensively searched in the city by US security personnel in the nearby US Embassy. If Trevor had been randomly attacked and killed in an unplanned or unprepared assault, it's highly likely his body would've been left and found.
- MIB on Cam 1 and 2 and MIB and the lone woman on Cam 3 never came forward to police, in spite of the case being widely publicised in a small country with a low rate of violent crime or disappearances. This would suggest their involvement or having a motive to hold back knowledge.
- MIB on Cam 1 appears to be expecting Trevor. Having waited for almost half an hour in an unusual location and exposed to bad weather, following a call he steps out onto the pavement, facing the right direction, seconds before Trevor arrives. This seems more than just coincidence and suggests collusion or a tip-off of some sort.
- No one in any houses near Haddington Road heard the sounds of a fight or saw anything strange.
Willful disappearance -
- Trevor was close to family and friends.
- He had a secure job he was reasonably content in.
- No unusual activity on bank account prior to disappearing and no activity at all after.
- Had made future plans with friends and no sign of any mental health issues/depression.
- Extensive search and widespread missing posters failed to find any solid witness sightings of Trevor.
- Nothing at all taken from his apartment, and zero indication that he ever made it back there that night he disappeared.
So, as to where Trevor physically went, alive or deceased, we have the following possibilities:
- Fell asleep in dumpster or killed and deposited in one. Body disposed of.
Though this
has happened, as previously mentioned, searches were undertaken in anticipation of the US President's visit and nothing found, and the suspicious activity of the night and the police force's response, leans strongly towards foul play.
- Abducted in a car.
Much more likely. Signs of possible collaboration between possible perpetrators during the night would set the stage for this. Car passes MIB on Camera 3 at 4.15.04, heading towards Trevor's direction. Driver of car never came forward. Also at the top of the screen of Cam 3, where a streetlight glows, at 4.14.54s, there is some movement that alters and momentarily obscures some of the light, possibly Trevor crossing the street. In the moments before, there is also movement off-screen that shows up in the light, that could suggest that Trevor stopped, possibly either to look behind him or cross the road.
- Willingly got in car and taken elsewhere.
Possible, but no weight to add to that, beyond being unable to disprove it.
- Went to local house and subsequently died/was killed, with body disposed of later.
Again, possible but there are no signs necessarily indicating that outcome.
As for the potential motives:
- Assaulted/killed in response to some offence caused or a fight earlier in the night.
This is why the 2.30 - 3.25AM period of time is potentially so important. There seems to be some uncertainty about where Trevor was during that time and what he was doing, but something bad-tempered may have occurred, that set up the events of later on in the night. In 2017, the Irish police received what they considered
a very strong tip-off from an unnamed woman who had formerly associated with a gang that had run drug and prostitute rackets along the canal. This informant said that Trevor had had a chance encounter with a high-up member of the gang that led to him being shot dead. This information resulted in a dig for remains in an area of West Dublin and though a handgun was found, it was determined to be unrelated to the case. In this particular case, the Irish police focused heavily on canvassing within the prison population. Although they have been extremely tight-lipped on this case, that unprecedented level of focus, combined with the lack of footage released to the wider public, may be a sign that there is a known gang or criminal element to the supposed crime and that the police believe their greatest chance of solving it is to get an informant to speak up.
- Assaulted/killed after interrupting a robbery or planned robbery at BOIAM.
Seems a stretch and something very uncommon in Ireland. Particularly because it was not a bank, just a bank services building, so contained no money or anything obviously desirable for a theft. It's been suggested there could be IRA paramilitary links but by 2000, it was post the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and such IRA heists had largely halted by that time.
- Assaulted/killed by hired hand to silence him after he came across some conspiracy or info in his work.
Again, corporate assassinations in Irish history are pretty much unheard of. There has been nothing to suggest Trevor had come across anything he shouldn't have or was a would-be whistleblower of any sort. It is worth keeping in mind though, that the events did occur on the night of the staff party and that the last location Trevor passed through was his office.
- A debt or some previous offence being repaid.
It's possible. Though Trevor had no irregular bank activity, no previous form, and no unusual behaviour or behavioural changes, that would raise questions over some prior or ongoing dealings in drugs or in other illicit goings on, that could lead to premeditated retribution.
- Attempted mugging gone wrong.
Firstly, Trevor was only a regular young lad on his way home from a night out and wouldn't have had much of value on his person. His bank card was never active again after he used it at an ATM at 12.28AM. Even if someone did see a reason to mug him, it leading to a murder would be very unusual in Ireland, and again the absence of the body highly indicates a risky and challenging disposal job, that makes an attempted mugging gone wrong look unlikely and points towards something more organised.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
As is always the case at this time of year, with nights getting longer and colder, and shadows taller, I find this tragic and eerie disappearance descending on me again. I remember as a child seeing Trevor's missing poster on every lamppost, vaguely understanding it was something dark and sad that was outside of my small safe world. That feels so long ago. Yet all this time later, his family continue to search for answers and they will soon be making their annual appeal through the media. For
the 20th anniversary of Trevor's disappearance, they held a candlelit vigil on Haddington Road, canvassing the public and raising awareness of their plight to find him. We are now approaching the 22nd anniversary on December 8th and Trevor Deely has still never been found and they've never got any peace.
As well as raising awareness and keeping this stays in mind, it would be good to hear others' thoughts on the case and to hopefully nudge some people to really dig deep into it too. In particular I have a lot of questions about things like Freedom of Information and why such little info has been made public from the case, as well as things like telecommunication capabilities and records from that time, so if anybody can shed any light on anything like that it'd be great.
Further reading on the case:
- The Irish Times'
Part 1,
Part 2 and
Part 3 of the story from 2015.
-
The CCTV Footage from the night Trevor disappeared.
-
The full list of missing people in Ireland on missing.ie.
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