Gardaí will find it “very challenging” to track down the main suspect in the Jamey Carney murder investigation, a local journalist has predicted. 

The American mother of one was found dead in her Kerry home on Tuesday morning and a post-mortem examination concluded that she had died a violent death. 

Gardaí want to speak to a friend of Ms Carney’s, who is believed to have been with her earlier in the week. 

However, the man in question had already fled Ireland before Ms Carney’s body had even been found. 

“It's believed that he had a head start of about 12 hours from the time that Ms Carney was killed in her home just off the Muckross Road in Killarney on Monday evening,” Ralph Riegel of the Irish Independent told Newstalk Breakfast. 

“She was discovered in the bedroom of her property, that was at 1.23pm on Tuesday. 

“By the time Miss Carney's body was discovered, this man had already left.” 

A lake close to the town of Killarney. Picture by: Alamy.com.

It is understood that the man had lived in Ireland for two years, but was a Jordanian national with strong links to Syria, Turkey and France. 

Gardaí went to his registered address in Killarney but he was no longer there. 

They also tried to contact him by telephone - to no avail. 

“Immediately, there was an alert placed on bus stations, train stations, ports, airports,” Mr Riegel said. 

“But of course, by that stage, he'd already left the jurisdiction. 

“It was an analysis of travel documents and CCTV footage indicated that he had gotten a bus from Killarney in the early hours of Tuesday morning straight to Dublin. 

“Went to Dublin Airport and managed to get on a flight to Turkey and had left by the time the alert was raised.”

Turkish police

Police in Turkey are understood to have been helpful and sympathetic when Gardaí made enquiries - however, there is only a certain amount they can do. 

“There are a number of challenges given the sheer size of Turkey,” Mr Riegel said. 

“The fact that there's a lot, the borders in the south and the east of Turkey are particularly porous.

“There's a significant movement of people, particularly refugees, back and forth across those borders.

“So, it's a very challenging task for officers.”

Funeral arrangements for Ms Carney have not yet been announced and it is unknown if she will be laid to rest in Ireland or America. 

“The family are certainly still trying to deal with the trauma and the shock of this discovery,” Mr Riegel said. 

“Now, Gardaí have appointed a family liaison officer to assist the family and, I think, foremost in everyone's mind at the moment is the care for this 13-year-old girl.

“I mean, you can only imagine what she's going through, having lost her mother, having discovered her in the property.” 

Anyone with any information has been asked to contact Killarney Garda Station.

Main image: Jamey Carney.