The Cold Case Files by Barry Cummins

Author:Barry Cummins [Cummins, Barry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780717154661
Publisher: Gill & Macmillan

Stephen Hughes Connors was just 12 years old when he was killed in an arson attack in the Dublin suburb of Tallaght in the early hours of 1 September 2001. Stephen was one of two young boys who were sleeping in a makeshift den at Rossfield Avenue and they were both fast asleep when the den was set on fire by a man who has not yet been brought to justice. Stephen lived elsewhere in the Rossfield estate; the house he shared with his parents and younger sister and brother was just around the corner at Rossfield Park. Stephen’s parents thought he was staying in a house in the nearby Brookview estate that night. They’d no idea he had instead headed for home but as he had passed by the den he had decided to join his friends inside. He and a number of other local children were very proud of the den, it was their private space away from adults and older teenagers. Stephen had never slept there before, but he had been in it during the daytime. The den was made up of a number of wooden pallets, and had a covering for the roof. The children had got a two-seater sofa and a foam mattress which they had placed inside. They had also sourced some carpet remnants and floor mats. The den was near the front of the Rossfield estate, close to where the old shops had been. It was set in the front garden of a now disused building. Not everyone approved of the den, but for many parents it was a place where they knew their children were playing within yards of their own homes, a place where children should have been able to play safely.

It is not very often that the events leading up to a killing are captured on camera. However, by chance, the person who set the fire which claimed Stephen’s life was caught on video. The footage is dark and grainy, but the man is seen entering the front garden and walking towards the den at around 5.10 a.m. The den itself is just out of vision on the footage, but what is without doubt is that when the man leaves the den a short time later, a flash of light is reflected on the back of his jacket. This seems to be some form of explosion as the fire takes hold in the den. These are the moments Stephen Hughes Connors lost his life.

There is also more information from the video camera which was recording all night from the bedroom of a house nearby. At about 5.01 a.m.—nine or ten minutes before the fire took hold—the man is seen approaching the den for the first time. He walks along the footpath from within the Rossfield estate and turns left into the driveway where the makeshift den is housed. Intriguingly, he has a dog with him on the first occasion. The dog wanders around on the road outside while the man walks towards the den.

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