Waterford Arson Attack: Two Arrested After Family of Four Killed

Gardai arrested a man and a woman on Thursday afternoon, October 15, in connection with the arson attack that killed a couple and two of their children in Waterford, hours after Ireland's parliament paid tribute to the family in Dublin.

Philip English and his wife Kim died with their sons Callum, 12, and Jayden, nine, when their home at 7 Birch Avenue, in the Birchwood estate on the edge of Waterford city, was firebombed at about 5 a.m. on Tuesday, October 13. Two of the couple's other children, a girl of 14 and a boy of six, remain in critical condition in hospital in Dublin.

The arrests

A Garda spokesperson said investigating officers arrested a man aged in his 20s and a woman aged in her 30s for alleged offences contrary to section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006, in connection with the arson attack and murder of four persons at 7 Birch Avenue. Section 72 covers offences linked to facilitating a criminal organisation. Both are detained under section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007 at a Garda station in the Garda Eastern region.

The Irish Sun reported that the woman is understood to have driven a car involved to the scene, while the man was involved at the scene. Gardai searched multiple properties during the week and seized a number of electronic devices and vehicles. Officers described the investigation as intense and very active. The Garda Technical Bureau is still examining the house, and post-mortem examinations on all four victims have been completed. The results are not being released for operational reasons. Family liaison officers are keeping the bereaved family updated.

A debt the family did not owe

Relatives say the house was targeted over someone else's drug debt of 20,000 euros. On Wednesday, October 14, a son of Mr English, John James English, told RTE News the family had been targeted for some time, were not involved in drugs and were innocent. He asked, in the Sun's account of his remarks, whether a debt of twenty thousand euros was worth nearly five lives.

Jayden, the younger of the two boys who died, had a heart operation just two weeks ago, the Sun reported. Neighbours in Birchwood woke to screaming at about 5 a.m. on Tuesday and tried to get into the house to rescue the family, but the flames beat them back.

Tributes in the Dail, and a funeral for four

Hundreds of people attended a vigil in Birchwood on Wednesday, where balloons were released for the family. On Thursday, Sinn Fein TD David Cullinane raised the killings at Leaders' Questions in the Dail. Cullinane, who knows the family, said the attack showed "utter contempt for human life". He called for the Garda resources the murder investigation needs, including support from the Organised Crime Unit and the Criminal Assets Bureau. He also asked for urgent risk assessments, a named contact and safe emergency accommodation for families who report drug-related intimidation, and a review of how such threats are handled, with a report to parliament next week.

The family has planned a funeral for all four. The death notices ask for family flowers only, with donations in lieu to Crumlin Children's Hospital in Dublin. Friends and teammates at Johnville FC, where Callum played, paid tribute to a boy his friends called the funniest in the group.

What happens next

The two people arrested can be questioned while they remain in detention, and gardai have repeated their appeal for information about the attack on Birch Avenue. The next steps are whether charges follow, the condition of the two injured children in Dublin, and the government's answer next week on how families threatened over drug debts are protected.