The boyfriend of American national, Jamey Carney, who was murdered in Kerry, has been detained in the Middle East.

The body of the mum-of-one was found by her 13-year-old daughter, Michaela, in an upstairs bedroom of her Homeland property off Killarney’s Muckross Road at 1.23pm last Tuesday, July 7.

According to officers, Ms Carney’s body was wrapped in bedclothes which were placed over her head.

Irish officers had been looking to speak to her boyfriend, Ahmed Al-Saqar but were unable to locate him.

He is ‘a person of interest’ for gardaí as he spent time with the 43-year-old between July 4-6. Gardai now believe the Jordanian was with Ms Carney on Monday evening, the night she was fatally assaulted.

Now it has emerged that officials at the Jordanian Directorate of Public Security – the main policing body in the Middle Eastern country – have tracked down Ms Carney’s boyfriend, Ahmed Al-Saqar.

Officers here in Ireland have been contacted by Jordanian officials about the arrest in recent days.

According to the Irish Mirror, Mr Al-Saqar – who met Ms Carney at a pro-Palestinian march in Kerry – left Killarney on a 3am bus to Dublin Airport on Tuesday morning, just several hours before Ms Carney was found dead in her home.

Investigators believe the asylum seeker Al-Saqar travelled to Jordan shortly after he landed in Turkey and was trying to make his way to Al-Husn, 65km north of the capital Amman and his hometown.

It’s understood that security decided to arrest the 28-year-old, who sought asylum in Ireland in June 2024 and was appealing a refusal of that application when Ms Carney was killed, when they became aware he had come back to Jordan.

Sources told the Irish Mirror that Jordanian cops arrested him because they were aware he was at the centre of the Garda manhunt. It is understood there was no request to detain him by Irish authorities.

Ireland does not have an extradition treaty with either Jordan or Syria.

Ms Carney – who was from New York but was in the process of becoming an Irish citizen – was reportedly struck in the face and throat during a row. Officers believe she died from asphyxiation. Bedclothes were then placed over her face and head.

Her body was discovered by her teenage daughter shortly after 1.20pm the following afternoon.

Her sister, Devon Bennett, described Ms Carney as ‘an insanely caring human being who dedicated so much of herself, her energy and her time to fighting for the rights of others.’

Devon said her sister was so proud of her ‘brilliant daughter Michaela (13).’