A Maine farmhand denied asylum in Ireland says he is a suspect in the apparent killing and dismemberment of an Irish farmer on whose land he has been living.
Michael Kelley, who told cops in Ireland he’s from Maine, was detained and questioned in what police say they now believe is the murder of Michael Gaine, a sheep farmer in Kenmare, County Kerry, Ireland.
Gaine, 56, on whose farm Kelley had been a tenant, was reported missing two months ago by his family.
Cops last week said they have now found Gaine’s dismembered body in a slurry tank on his farm. They said he had been chainsawed to pieces and that they have since found what had been a missing chainsaw linked to the dismemberment.
The Irish press has been extensively covering the case, which initially was characterized as a missing-person’s investigation that police now believe was a grisly murder.
The Irish Mirror reports that Kelley “insists he played no part in the crime and claims to be a victim of a set-up orchestrated by underworld figures.”
“There may be elements that want to string me up, people who have an interest in organized crime – people who are involved in organized crime,” Kelley told the paper.
Kelley has been portrayed in several Irish newspapers as being a “self-proclaimed asylum seeker” who is originally from Maine.
He has been denied asylum and served with a deportation order.
Kelley’s Maine hometown has not been identified yet in the news coverage of the Gaine investigation but he told police he was born in Maine.
The Irish Sun described Kelley as a former U.S. Army trooper.
“Kelley, in his 50s, had worked on Gaine’s farm for around three years and knew him well,” the Mirror reports.
Kelley told the paper he is “absolutely revolted” by what appears to have happened to Gaine and that it is “heartbreaking.”
He said he was upset over Gaine’s apparent killing and denied any involvement.
Kelley said that due to what he called unjust persecution in the U.S. he was seeking asylum in Ireland, which, as a signatory to international conventions provides protection to applicants meeting the criteria for refugee status.
