The son of a man killed alongside his wife and two children in a house fire in Waterford has claimed his family were murdered because of someone else's 20,000 euro drug debt.
The incident occurred in the Birchwood estate in Waterford City, in South East Ireland, on Tuesday morning (October 13). In a statement, Waterford Fire Service said it was alerted to a house fire at Birchwood Avenue at 5.13am on Tuesday morning.
It said: “A number of units from surrounding stations attended and on arrival found a well-developed fire. Firefighting operations commenced immediately, and a number of casualties were removed from the two-storey house. The fire was extinguished and the scene handed over to An Garda Síochána.”
“Waterford City and County Council has commissioned the Butler Community Centre in St. John’s Park in Waterford city (X91 FEP4) as a Support Hub. Professional supports, refreshments, and facilities are available for those who have been affected by the fire in the Birchwood area.”
Family targeted over ‘someone else’s debt’
Multiple properties have since been searched, and a number of electronic devices and vehicles seized as part of an “intense” Garda investigation into the arson attack that led to the deaths of Philip and Kim English and their sons Callum, 12, and Jayden, nine.
Mr English’s son, John James English, has now told RTÉ News the family were killed because of someone else’s 20,000 euro drug debt. He said the family had been targeted for some time but were not involved in drugs and were “innocent”.
“It’s a family, you know,” he said, reports Cork Beo. “Twenty grand worth of a debt; is that worth nearly five lives?”
Uncle urges witnesses to come forward
An uncle of Philip English has called on anyone with information to come forward. James English, who said he is the godfather of one of the children who died, said: “Whoever did it, he better feel ashamed of himself.”
Mr English called on any witnesses to go to the Garda with whatever information they have. “Well, whoever knows, they’d want to turn up and own up, whoever done it,” he said. “At the end of the day, we have a loss of family now, wiped out. So please, whoever done it, own up, be a man.”
Speaking on Wednesday, Chief Superintendent Anthony Pettit reiterated that An Garda Síochána believes that the house was attacked by a person or persons unknown and that the fire was started deliberately.
“There are people in the community who know the person or persons who carried out this arson attack in which four people have been murdered,” he said. “If you have any information on the murderous arson attack, please speak to the Garda investigation team at Waterford Garda Station or contact the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or speak with any member of An Garda Síochána that you know.”
Vigil and community response
Taoiseach Micheál Martin also said on Wednesday that the Government will put in place all resources needed for the Garda investigation, and for community supports, as he thanked the first responders for dealing with “what was a very traumatic situation”.
It comes after hundreds of people attended a vigil on Wednesday evening (October 14) in the Birchwood area, where the local parish priest called on those responsible to “to stand up, admit what you did and face the legal consequences”.
At a prayer vigil at Sacred Heart Church on Wednesday evening, Father Gerry Chestnutt called on the local community to “wrap each other in love”. He told the congregation of around 500: “We may even find words hard to speak, but our emotions can be shown. Each one of us knows that what happened in Birch Avenue yesterday should never, ever have happened.”
“An innocent family preparing for a new day should have done what they did every day: parents preparing their children for school. An innocent family taken from our midst in a most horrific and violent way.”
“I want to say, even though they’re not here, that the persons responsible need to have the courage now to stand up, admit what you did and face the legal consequences of what you did. And I would also say to all here present: if you know anything whatsoever about what happened on Birch Avenue, please contact An Garda Síochána.”
