Douglas man charged with 'a number of serious offences' after Cornaa Beach incident

Police confirm Taylor Murphy has been charged with 'attempted murder, two counts of robbery, burglary and other acquisitive crimes'

The Isle of Man Constabulary has issued a new statement regarding this week's incident at Cornaa Beach.

It says: "This evening, following consultation with the Attorney Generals Chambers, the Constabulary has charged Taylor Murphy with a number of serious offences including attempted murder, two counts of robbery, burglary and other acquisitive crimes.

"Following charge, it is now possible to respond to concerns raised in the media and social media in relation to public messaging.

"An initial media release was issued on Sunday 5th October. This described Murphy as a “high risk missing person”. It has been widely reported that he was described in Police press releases as “vulnerable”. This is not true. A later media release also requested residents of the Maughold area to check that outbuildings were “secure and not disturbed”. This reflected concern that unreported burglaries might have occurred. Police did not, contrary to some reports, request the public to search for Murphy. This request appears to have originated in news articles which inaccurately paraphrased the direct advice.

"Further updates were issued on Monday 6th October which reflected a shift in the focus of search activity to the Douglas area, led by new information and reported sightings which unfortunately proved to be inaccurate.

"It is of note that social media commentary has included inaccurate speculation regarding the nature of the incident at Cornaa. The Constabulary would therefore repeat its request that the public refrain from speculation and allow criminal justice processes, which have now commenced, to be followed to their conclusion.

"At this time the thoughts of the Constabulary are with the Ramsey man who continues to receive hospital care in the UK."