By Pierce O’Reilly
Police in Philadelphia say they have arrested another man and identified their final two suspects in the unsolved 1999 murder of 35-year-old Donegal native Neil Martin McConigley.
Originally from Tamney in Fannad, McConigley was killed by a gang of youths during a robbery at his construction business on Oct. 22, 1999. The second arrest took place last week when Marlon Pitter, a twin brother of another suspect, apparently made a statement admitting his involvement in the murder. Pitter was the driver of the getaway car and has admitted his involvement, according to Sgt. Charles McMullin, head of the homicide division.
Officers are still searching for two other suspects. One of them is Alan Pitter, the twin brother of Marlon. The final suspect is Marlon Mullings, 20, who police believe fired the shots that killed McConigley. Mullings has given various addresses in Philadelphia.
Philly police made their first arrest in the case back in January when Cerrone Furman, 20, was apprehended. He has since been charged with murder, aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, violation of the uniform firearms act, and criminal conspiracy.
McMullin said a warrant has been issued for the two final suspects. Police believe the suspects were the robbers who targeted the stucco business, CMAC Construction Inc., on Daggett Street, near Vine, owned by McConigley and a partner.
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Fifteen months passed without any breakthrough in the case. However, a "cold-case" squad — with James Dougherty and Charles Brown as the lead detectives — conducted its own investigation. They pursued various leads, including a license plate, to develop the suspects, McMullin said. After robbing the partner in the company’s garage, the pair fled in a getaway car driven by Pitter, according to police.
McConigley’s partner survived the robbery unharmed but told how the gang entered the premises and grabbed the payroll from him. They tied him up and escaped with $560. It is understood the thieves then realized McConigley had witnessed the robbery from the yard.
McConigley had driven into the yard, then started to chase the speeding getaway car — but when he caught up with it, he was shot to death. His murder stunned the region’s Irish-American community. The parish priest at Tamney, Father Friel, said at the time that McConigley’s family was devastated by the tragedy.
"Mr. McConigley comes from a large family who still live throughout this area, and they’re deeply distressed by the news," he said. "This is a tragedy."
In the weeks after his death a group of about 40 friends and acquaintances offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
"Martin’s wounds still bleed in the heart of our community," one friend of the victim said this week. "The bleeding has slowed a little, but it won’t stop until this case is finally closed and the criminals responsible for his murder are brought to justice."
McConigley came to the U.S. in 1987 and later formed a stucco business with his partner, Sean Clinton, also an Irish immigrant. McConigley and his fiancee, Joan Havey, had a son, Neil Martin McConigley Jr. The boy is now 2 years old.