The migrant who fled Ireland after the brutal killing of an American woman in a popular tourist town has been arrested in his native Jordan, according to Irish media.
The man, whom Irish police describe as a “person of interest,” was detained within the past 48 hours by Jordan’s Public Security Directorate after authorities learned he had returned to the country and was the focus of the Garda murder investigation, according to the Irish Mirror. The newspaper reported Irish officials were informed of the arrest Monday.
Irish police confirmed to Fox News Digital they were aware “of the arrest of a male in Jordan by the Jordanian authorities” but did not identify the man or confirm he was the person of interest in the investigation.
Police also confirmed they “have not made any request to the Jordanian authorities for the arrest of any person at this time.”
Ireland does not have an extradition treaty with Jordan, where the man is being detained, according to the Irish Independent.
The man at the center of the case had reportedly been refused asylum in Ireland but remained in the country while appealing that decision before the murder took place. He still possessed his passport, allowing him to leave Ireland before Carney’s body was discovered, according to the Irish Mirror.
The reported arrest marks a major turn in the investigation after the man fled Ireland before Carney’s body was discovered, sparking an international search spanning Ireland, Turkey and now Jordan.
Jamey Carney, 43, a New York native who moved to Ireland in 2021, died from suffocation after suffering head injuries at her home in Killarney, County Kerry, The Irish Times reported. The idyllic tourist town is hugely popular among U.S. tourists.
Detectives believe Carney was killed around 11 p.m. Monday, hours before her 13-year-old daughter discovered her body at about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. By then, the man had traveled roughly 200 miles by bus to Dublin Airport and boarded a flight to Istanbul, according to the Irish Independent.
The Irish Independent reported the man had expressed a desire to relocate to the United States and had told acquaintances Carney was helping him pursue U.S. residency. Investigators now believe the Jordanian national was with Carney on Monday evening, the night she was fatally assaulted.
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