Jamey Carney murder suspect fled Ireland after asylum was rejected

An immigrant wanted in Ireland in connection with the brutal murder of an American mother was in the country despite his asylum application being rejected, according to Irish media.

The man, identified by Irish police as a “person of interest”, was in the process of appealing his asylum decision and was allowed to remain in the country when Jamey Carney, 43, was beaten and strangled at his home in Killarney, County Kerry. Irish Mirror reported.

Despite his status, media said he still had his passport and flew from Ireland to Istanbul, Türkiye, before Carney’s body was found on Tuesday, triggering an international manhunt and murder investigation.

It is not clear when or why his asylum application was rejected. Irish police refused to name the man.

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The reports are expected to intensify scrutiny into Ireland’s asylum system and why the man remained in the country after his asylum claim was reportedly rejected.

The Irish Mirror reported that the Jordanian national arrived in Ireland in 2024 and lived in a state-run migrant shelter in the idyllic town before spending increasingly more time at Carney’s home after becoming romantically involved.

He came to the United Kingdom before traveling around Northern Ireland, eventually settling in County Kerry, according to the Irish Mirror.

Social media accounts include posts from England and Türkiye in recent years.

Carney’s social media profiles described her as “a New Yorker in Ireland” and showed her being with a man she described as her partner, writing that they were a “mixed couple.” Multiple Irish media outlets identified the man as the man police were seeking, but Irish police have not publicly confirmed his identity or disclosed his immigration status.

Fox News Digital asked Irish police and the Ministry of Justice to confirm reports that he had been denied asylum and was appealing that decision. Neither agency confirmed the reports.

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American citizen Jamey Carney (left) and members of Ireland’s national police force, An Garda Síochána, patrol Grafton Street in Dublin in a file photo. Irish police have come under criticism for not publicly identifying the person of interest in Carney’s murder. (Jamey Carney/Facebook; Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Detectives believe Carney died around 11 p.m. Monday, about 14 hours before his body was found. Irish Independent.

His body was found by his 13-year-old daughter around 13.30 local time on Tuesday.

By then the man had traveled 200 miles by bus to Dublin Airport and boarded a flight to Istanbul.

Despite the manhunt entering its sixth day, police have yet to name or provide any details about the escapee, sparking criticism on both sides of the Atlantic. Irish police said investigators were working with international law enforcement partners as the murder investigation continued.

According to The Irish Independent, detectives alerted airports, ports, train stations and bus stations just an hour after Carney’s body was found. But by then the man had already left Ireland.

According to the Irish Mirror, investigators now fear he may have traveled to his home country, Jordan, which has no extradition treaty with Ireland.

A law enforcement source told Fox News Digital that the search was expected to be difficult because the man had a significant head start before investigators were alerted to Carney’s death.

The entrance to the Homeland housing estate on Muckross Road, Killarney, County Kerry, where American citizen Jamey Carney was found dead in his home. Irish police launched a murder investigation. (Google Maps)

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Carney, a New York native, moved to Ireland in 2021 and his family lives in the Killarney area.

The State Department told Fox News Digital it was providing consular assistance to the victim’s family.