‘Jo Jo’s family have suffered for 29 years’ – new garda appeal on anniversary of Kilkenny woman’s disappearance
Gardaí have renewed an appeal for information about missing Kilkenny woman Josephine ‘Jo Jo’ Dullard on the 29th anniversary of her disappearance.
The unsolved case has been the subject of a sustained Garda investigation, by the investigation team based at Naas Garda Station in Co. Kildare.
It is currently being reviewed by the Serious Crime Review Team, National Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
In November 2020, on the 25th Anniversary of Jo Jo’s disappearance An Garda Síochána confirmed her disappearance was now classified as a murder investigation. At the time, gardaí said thy are satisfied serious harm came to Jo Jo on or about the night of November 9, 1995.
However, no-one has ever been brought to justice for the Kilkenny woman’s murder.
The investigation into the murder of Jo Jo Dullard has continued since the reclassification to ‘murder’ in 2020.
The investigation has progressed and nearly 800 recommendations have been identified.
These recommendations have informed and generated new lines of enquiry which been actioned by the Investigation Team based at Naas Garda Station, under the direction of the Senior Investigating Officer, assisted by An Garda Síochána Serious Crime Review Team.
Now, 29 years later, gardaí continue to appeal to the public for any information on Jo Jo’s disappearance and murder.
In a statement issued today, a Garda spokesperson said: “Gardaí are appealing to anyone that met, saw, or has any information in relation to the murder of Josephine after 11.37pm on the night of the 9th November 1995, who has not spoken to Gardaí to please come forward.
“Jo Jo was in Bruxelles Bar, Harry Street (off Grafton Street), Dublin 2 on the 9th November 1995. Do you remember meeting Jo Jo?
“Jo Jo had her Sanyo Stereo cassette Player (model MGP21) with her on the 9th November 1995. Did anyone see this cassette player after the 9th November 1995; did anyone receive such a cassette player from a friend or person that could not tell you from where they received it?”
Gardaí are appealing to anyone who was hitchhiking in the immediate area around Moone, Co. Kildare at the end of October 1995 or the start of November 1995, to “please come forward and speak to our investigation team”.
A spokesperson added: “Did you give a lift to a hitchhiker around the same time in the Moone area. If you did, the investigation team would like to talk to you!”
Gardaí also said they continue to appeal “to any person who may have previously come forward who felt they could not provide gardaí with all the information they had in relation to this matter, to contact the investigation team again”.
The spokesperson said of the unsolved case: “Jo Jo’s family have now suffered from her disappearance for 29 years.
“An Garda Síochána is resolute in our determination to provide answers for Jo Jo’s family and bring her murderer to justice.
“An Garda Síochána appeals to anyone with any information, no matter how small or insignificant you might believe it to be, to contact Naas Garda Station on 045 884 300 or any Garda station, or anyone who wishes to provide information confidentially should contact the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.”
Twenty-nine years ago today, on November 9, 1995 Jo Jo travelled to Dublin where she spent the evening socialising in Bruxelles Bar on Harry Street, just off Grafton Street.
She missed her last bus home to Kilkenny that evening. Instead, at 10pm, boarded a bus to Naas, Co. Kildare.
Jo Jo then intended to hitch hike the rest of the way home to Callan.
She hitched a lift from Naas to the slip road on the M9 motorway at Kilcullen, Co. Kildare.
At approximately, 11.15pm Jo Jo hitched another lift to Moone, Co. Kildare, where she made a telephone call to her friend Mary Cullinan at 11.37pm.
During that call, Jo Jo told Mary a car had stopped for her and she was going to take the lift. This was the last that was heard from the Kilkenny woman.
The following morning, Jo Jo’s concerned sister Kathleen reported her missing.
Jo Jo was 21 when she disappeared. Her father John died before she was born, and her mother Nora died from cancer in 1983.
Jo Jo was the youngest of five siblings, her sisters Mary, Nora and Kathleen and brother Thomas.
