February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Guiney, 19, left his parent’s home in County Down for New York in September 2002. The young man moved in with relatives of his mother in Pearl River and soon found work as a painter with a local contractor.
With a friend, Ryan Rafferty, Guiney went out on the evening of Sept. 19, 2002, and had a meal and a few drinks. What happened that night is uncertain, but the next morning, Guiney’s body was found hanging from a tree in a cul-de-sac. His parents have launched a Web site about their son’s death because of their concerns about how he met his end. The Web site is: www.patrickguiney.org.
Police investigating the incident said “case closed” with undue haste, according to Guiney’s grieving parents, Lawrence and Philomena, who say that there is no reason for their son to have committed suicide.
In addition, the two young men got separated from each other, and on his way home, Rafferty was mugged by three men who stole his sneakers. The mugging took place close to where Guiney’s body was found, an area that his parents say they were told was proud of its crime-free record in recent years. Rafferty’s shoes were later found near where Guiney’s body was hanging.
Other mysteries have compounded the Guineys’ suspicion that their son’s death was not a suicide. They believe he was the victim of a murder.
Photographs of his remains, taken at the time of his autopsy, show clearly that his nose was both bruised and swollen at that time. And the Guineys feel that the officers investigating the incident did not adequately consider a link between the mugging and their son’s death.
The Guineys concerns are raised through the Web site in the hope that someone in the area may have their memory jogged about the night of Sept. 19, 2002 and get in touch with them.