The parents of Daniel Aruebose earlier confessed to burying the three-year-old in a shallow grave in Ireland. Detectives uncovered a body last month and are carrying out DNA tests
The body of a three-year-old boy has been discovered on wasteland, but the skeletal remains of the child are yet to be confirmed as missing Daniel Aruebose.
Human remains, which are suspected to belong to the toddler, were uncovered on September 17 in north county Dublin. It comes after an almost three-week hunt from the Garda’s DMR North Divisional Search Team. The corpse was buried by hand on marshy wasteland.
However, it has been revealed that DNA tests are yet to confirm the identity of the child’s remains. A Garda spokesperson said: “An Garda Síochána has no update on DNA identification at this time.”
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Gardaí are still appealing for information into the circumstances of Daniel’s death. He disappeared in the summer of 2021 and was secretly buried by his parents Maria Aruebose and Ciaran Dirrean, from the Aran Islands, Co Galway. The couple admitted that they dumped him in a shallow grave and said he died from natural causes.
They told investigators they panicked and carried his body in a rucksack almost 4km from the apartment they were living in at The Gallery in Donabate and dug a shallow grave with their own hands on the marshy wasteland along the Portrane Road. It was earlier revealed that Daniel was changed from his pyjamas into his day clothes and buried along with his favourite teddy bear that his foster parents had given him.
Mr Dirrane moved to Brazil after Daniel’s death and set up a new life there while Ms Aruebose remained living in an apartment at The Gallery in Donabate. The shocking discovery of a child’s skeletal remains, which are believed to be Daniel’s, came after a 16 day search on the lands by Gardaí.
The discovery brought a tragic end of the intensive search for the missing three year old. Gardaí are still waiting on DNA results to confirm the remains are those of little Daniel. A post-mortem has taken place but has proved inconclusive. Further tests are being carried out to try and determine a cause of death.
At a vigil held in memory of Daniel on the green in Donabate last Sunday week, where hundreds were in attendance, parish priest Fr Pat O Reilly told Irish Mirror: “There will continue to be a sense of shock around – until the final closure and we just have to wait for that. The community feels so helpless and when you are helpless you want to demonstrate in some way,” Fr O’Reilly told Irish Mirror. “If Daniel’s funeral is to take place here in Donabate we will come out as a community and show our love for the little boy.”
And this week, when asked if there has been any further development on funeral arrangements for Daniel, Fr O’Reilly said: “There has been no word as yet as I believe tests are still ongoing.” Daniel’s disappearance only came to light at the end of August during a random spot check by officers from the Department of Social Protection who then alerted Tusla.
The tragic tot’s parents continue to maintain he passed away in his sleep from natural causes, that they discovered him dead in his bed and panicked. It was reported that the couple dug a shallow grave with their own hands and secretly buried Daniel’s body in the ground along with his favourite teddy bear that his foster family had given him while he was in their care in his early life.
The major garda hunt for three-year-old Daniel – who has not been seen in four years and would be turning eight in December- commenced on September 2 after the site on the Portrane Road in Donabate was cordoned off the previous day by officers.
It has also been reported that a newly-purchased phone belonging to Daniel’s mother Maria was seized by Gardaí in recent days as part of the ongoing investigation into the child’s death and that there was only one photograph of Daniel, hidden in the apartment where he lived with his parents, that Gardaí also seized. Investigators also took possession of her previous handset, and both devices are now undergoing detailed forensic examination by specialist officers.
The two phones seized are being analysed as part of the ongoing inquiry, with officers seeking to establish whether they contain information relevant to the investigation. Investigators are understood to be checking for calls, messages, internet activity and location data that could shed light on the mother’s movements and communications in the period before and after the death of Daniel and his secret burial in the wasteland.
The little boy was given up for adoption by his parents but they later changed their mind once they were allocated an apartment by Fingal County Council. The child was then given back to them by Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.