The Cold Case Files (15 page)
Read The Cold Case Files Online
Authors: Barry Cummins
I had been describing how my marriage had turned around in many ways through my faith. When it came up in conversation that Brooke had since been kidnapped by masked
gunmen and never found, she immediately suggested that we start praying about it again. The very next day I was on a train and heard two church leaders talking opposite me, and we got chatting.
One of them was from Northern Ireland and I told him about Brooke and he described the work of
WAVE
, which a friend of his was involved with, and he put me in contact
with them.
Once Penny contacted Sandra Peake in
WAVE
she was put in contact with the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (
ICLVR
). The Commission has had fantastic success in recent years in recovering the bodies of a number of people who were killed by paramilitaries in the 1970s and early 80s. In 2008,
the
ICLVR
found the body of Danny McIlhone buried in Co. Wicklow. Danny had last been seen in 1981 in Dublin. Since the discovery of Danny’s body, the specialist team
have also found the bodies of Gerard Evans in Co. Louth, Charlie Armstrong in Co. Monaghan and Peter Wilson in Co. Antrim. Gerard was last seen in 1979; Charlie was last seen in 1981 and Peter
vanished in 1973. The Commission’s success is partly due to the absolute confidentiality it can ensure—former
IRA
members or others can go directly to a location
where they believe a body may lie and point out the spot without any fear of subsequent criminal charges. The Commission is led by two retired English detectives—Geoff Knupfer and Jon
Hill.
Geoff Knupfer met at length with Penny, and the Commission studied the details of Brooke’s case at Penny’s request, but ultimately they were unable to accept it into their remit.
There was no evidence to suggest any paramilitary link to Brooke’s abduction. Although the armed gang had apparently travelled from Northern Ireland to carry out the abduction, it seemed the
men were criminals and not paramilitaries. The case did not fit the criteria for the Commission’s work under the Good Friday Agreement. Geoff told Penny of the newly established Garda Cold
Case Unit and suggested she contact them. A team of detectives from the Unit is now actively reviewing the case. The items recovered from Brooke’s van when it was discovered at Derreennageeha
have been kept safe for the last two decades by Gardaí in Kerry. Detectives from the Cold Case Unit are assessing all the forensic opportunities that still exist, and are assessing all the
original witness statements. It is also hoped that the current excellent working relationship between the Gardaí and the Police Service of Northern Ireland will see anyone north of the
border who has information being actively pursued. The men involved in abducting Brooke would now be in their fifties and sixties.
There is also a hope that a cold-case review might see other people come forward with information who could not or would not in 1991. For example, it is possible that
IRA
members in Co. Kerry might have been aware of the presence of men from Northern Ireland who were perhaps trying to pass themselves off as paramilitaries in the area. With the passage of time, there
may be someone who can now tell what they know.
At Tralee Garda station I met Detective Sergeant Declan Liddane, who has worked on the case since day one. He is one of the few Gardaí involved in the original investigation who is still
serving. He remembers how he met Brooke on one occasion—Brooke called into a Garda station to complain about a truck driver who had been driving dangerously in the area. Detective Sergeant
Liddane tells me that Gardaí would dearly love to find Brooke and help bring some form of closure for Penny and her sons.
The whole world has moved on in the twenty years since Brooke’s abduction and suspected killing. People now are in different places and I ask anyone who may have
information that can give closure to the Pickard family and indicate where Brooke’s remains are buried, to do so. Any information supplied will be treated with the utmost confidentiality.
I can be contacted at Tralee Garda station, or any Garda or
PSNI
officer can get the ball rolling.
One issue which has long intrigued investigators is why, if Brooke was murdered, was his body not simply left in his van in the mountains? Why did the armed gang go to such great lengths to hide
the body of their victim? Every minute spent in Co. Kerry was a minute that could lead to the gang being caught, so why would such people spend further time taking Brooke from his van and hiding
him somewhere else? There are so many unanswered questions about this troubling case.
Every little thing is analysed and re-analysed. Brooke had worn a thick beard for many years, but a short time before he disappeared he had shaved it off and was sporting stubble when he
vanished. Was he trying to change his appearance, was he trying to avoid someone? Did he perceive a threat from anyone? Another issue which remains unresolved—if another man was indeed the
victim of an abduction attempt that same weekend on the same peninsula, is there a link? Was Brooke the victim of mistaken identity or was he just one of a number of targets for an armed gang? What
was the motive for Brooke’s abduction? Did he really have cash that the gang was after, or was it wrongly believed that he did? There are so many questions, which perhaps one day will be
answered.
Brooke’s three boys, who are now young men, have often found it very difficult to move on. On more than one occasion one or other of them has been approached by strangers who have made
suggestions to the effect that Brooke might still be alive, or that everything is not as it seems. None of these strangers has offered any evidence to back up such claims. One of Brooke’s
sons told me how he received one such approach in a pub in Cork city. Such claims by strangers have kept stirring up thoughts of ‘what if’, what if Brooke escaped from the abductors, or
what if there is some other answer to the mystery. “All the available evidence would lean towards the fact that he has presumably been murdered,” says Penny. “But the absolute
proof is not there. If his body was returned we could sort things out in our minds once and for all.”
Penny goes back to Co. Kerry quite a bit. She currently lives in England but still has strong ties to Castle Cove. Penny has many fond memories of living at the farmhouse.
It’s a place with very happy memories for me. The local people are so, so supportive. They were so supportive when I lost my daughter, and when our house burnt
down. One friend set up a fund to pay for Lisa’s funeral and people gave so generously. It was so amazing how kind and supportive people were. Later, local people even organised a charity
race to raise money for a headstone for Lisa, when our family finances were still frozen. The support of the local community following the house fire was just wonderful and has left such a deep
sense of gratitude for people’s kindness. I didn’t leave Ireland by choice, it was just that my parents urgently needed looking after in England. Castle Cove and County Kerry are
very happy places for me, despite the difficult things that happened there.
There is nothing at White Strand car park to signify this is the location where Brooke Pickard disappeared in April 1991. Castle Cove village, or An Siopa Dubh, is one of many beautiful spots
that Co. Kerry has to offer. The surrounding area is a major tourist route during the summer months. Just a short distance off the coast are many small islands including Cammarha, Illaunnanoon,
Illaunacummig and Carrigheela. Driving back out of the car park and turning left brings you into Castle Cove, the direction from which Brooke would have driven that Friday morning. He would have
come down his laneway to the junction at Behaghane Cross to join the Ring of Kerry road. He would have driven over Bunaneer Bridge, passing the milk collection stand and the local church. The
journey would have brought him past the post office and pub before stopping at the grocery shop and petrol pump on the right-hand side where he bought the £3 worth of petrol, which he put in
a can before heading to White Strand car park. And soon after he saluted a young girl on horseback nearby, a criminal gang suddenly rushed towards him.
Penny Pickard is now a grandmother. She is in close contact with her three sons, and spends much of her time with her grandchildren. With her own family reared and her parents no longer needing
her care, Penny now has more time to ask questions of Gardaí about her husband’s case.
We need closure. Brooke’s disappearance has impacted upon my sons in so many ways. The first priority in terms of closure would be finding Brooke’s body if he has been
murdered and secretly buried. It would bring a form of closure for the boys and myself and also for his brother and sister, if Brooke was found and laid to rest. That first priority is to find
Brooke. The second aspect of closure would be to find out what happened and why. And the third aspect of getting closure would be for those responsible to come clean with what they have done so
that it all can be laid to rest. It has been very hard for my boys to accept the injustice of it all. There have been massive knock-on effects caused to the entire family by what happened to
Brooke. My boys have had to live for over twenty years without a dad, and the people responsible are still keeping their secrets. It’s a tough thing. It must affect one’s world
view, it must lend to a view of the world that things are not fair. Whereas I believe that ultimately things are just. I believe that God is a God of justice. The people responsible, in a sense
that is God’s business. He hasn’t finished yet. There is a principle in the Scriptures that whatever evil is done against us, if we’re trusting in God and if we are doing
everything we can to live this way, that He will turn that evil to the good even in this life. That’s one of the reasons I’ve always had a real sense of underlying peace. Obviously
I’ve still got the sadness of Brooke not being here to see his children grow up and see his grandchildren, but the foundation of my belief is that there will be a purpose, there will be
something that comes out of this that will be beneficial. One thing that I have experienced in the last twenty years is the peace, strength and hope that comes when you trust in God.
F
ifty-six-year-old Grace Livingstone was shot once in the back of the head as she lay face down, bound and gagged, on her bed. Black tape covered
her mouth. Similar tape held her hands tightly together behind her back, and her ankles were also bound. It was the afternoon of Monday 7 December 1992, and one of the most audacious and shocking
murders had just occurred in a mature and normally peaceful estate in Malahide in north Co. Dublin. The killer has never been identified but there remains a clue which is every bit as valid today
as it was then. When the black adhesive tape was removed from Grace’s body and forensically examined, a set of fingerprints were found which have never been identified. Grace’s
husband’s fingerprints were also on the tape—Jimmy Livingstone had cut the tape from his wife’s wrists and ankles when he found her body—but there were another set of prints
which did not match Jimmy’s or anyone else known to have been in the Livingstone house after Grace’s body was discovered. These mystery fingermarks were on both sides of a section of
the black tape—there were impressions of the tops of fingers found on part of the adhesive side, and one finger impression found on part of the non-adhesive side. These fingermarks could well
be those of the killer.
Jimmy Livingstone found his wife’s body shortly before 6 p.m. The image is seared in his memory. Jimmy and his son Conor and daughter Tara have not only suffered the loss of their Grace,
but they have also suffered as a result of years of false suspicion and innuendo peddled by people who wrongly asserted Jimmy was still a suspect for his wife’s murder.
The simple truth of the matter is that within a day or two of the murder investigation being launched in December 1992 it would have become clear there was no forensic or factual evidence to
maintain Jimmy could have murdered his wife. Jimmy had given his clothing to Gardaí just hours after Grace’s body was found, and when the items were forensically examined it was clear
there was no evidence of gunshot residue. This showed Jimmy had not been in contact with a recently fired weapon. The doctor who first attended the scene gave an estimation that Grace had been shot
dead at around 4.35 p.m. What was without doubt was that Jimmy had been in work in Dublin until 5 p.m. He had driven all the way to Malahide with a work colleague and had not arrived home until
sometime around 5.50 p.m. The 999 call was received by emergency services at 5.58 p.m. and not one of the many people who entered the house to assist in the following moments could get the smell of
a recently fired weapon. This indicated the weapon had been fired some hours previously. A neighbour who was also a nurse was one of the first people to enter the house. She had checked Grace to
try and find a pulse. This neighbour noticed that the blood from Grace’s horrific head wound had started to congeal or clot, and this again indicated that the wound had been inflicted some
hours before.