A chainsaw, a slurry spreader and a Mainer are just three elements in the mysterious death of an Irish farmer.
Michael Kelley, 53, has lived in Ireland for seven years and worked as a farmhand in Carrig East in Kenmare for Michael Gaine, 56, for the past three years, according to the Irish Times. Kelley had been living in a tent harvesting seaweed in Kenmare Bay before Gaine let Kelley live on his 1,000-acre property in exchange for working the farm.
Gaine was reported missing on March 21. He was last seen on March 20 in a local shopping center, according to An Garda Síochána, the Irish national police and security service
Gaine’s dismembered remains were found in a slurry spreader, a farming tool, on May 16 after the spreader jammed, according to the Garda. Police found Gaine’s DNA in nearby fields where the slurry was spread.
Police detained a suspect in his 50s on May 18 but released him the next day without charge. The Garda declined in an email to the Bangor Daily News to comment on any named individuals in the case and said no further information is currently available as of Wednesday morning.
In multiple interviews with Irish media, Kelley has claimed he was the suspect questioned in Gaine’s disappearance, but he has denied any involvement in his death.
Kelley said in an interview with the Irish Mirror that he expects to be brought in for questioning again despite not being charged following the first round of questioning.
“It seems to be as though they would have charged me already. So I have a hard time believing that they’re going to charge me now,” Kelley said.
Kelley told the Irish Mirror that he was shown “glossy” photos of a chainsaw by the police that they suspected was used to dismember Gaine. Kelley called the photos and questioning a “card game” to link him to the homicide.
“The chainsaw thing is preposterous or they would have charged me. I mean Texas Chainsaw Massacre bullshit? I mean please. Preposterous,” Kelley said in an interview with the Irish Mirror.
Kelley also proposed theories for the homicide that include organized crime and being framed, according to the Irish Times.
Before moving across the Atlantic, Kelley lived in Waldo County, according to the Irish Times. Additional details about his life in Maine couldn’t be immediately confirmed.
Kelley was a private in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Germany as a guard. He later left the military as a conscientious objector during the first Gulf War, according to the Irish Mirror.
Kelley, a self-described “illegal immigrant,” has sought asylum in Ireland, which has been denied. He said in an interview with Extra.ie that he sought asylum because of fears of “unjust persecution” in America.
Kelley said in an interview with the Irish Times that he now has to report to the Garda station every “four to five days” to get an extension to stay in the country.
He said he “loves Ireland” and has no intention of leaving despite being served a deportation order. It’s unclear when that deportation order was issued, according to Irish media.
“I have been living underground and hiding from the immigration authorities for seven years,” Kelley told the Irish Mirror.
