A 60-year-old woman and her four-year-old grand nephew have been killed after a ‘reckless and murderous’ attack on a family home.
The bodies of Mary Holt and Tadhg Farrell were pulled out of the charred stays of a semi-detached home in Edenderry, Ireland at around 7.45pm on Saturday.
One other woman, aged in her 50s and considered the boy’s grandmother, is being treated in hospital for her injuries.
The hearth began when a petroleum bomb was hurled through the front window of the house, the Sun reported.
Supt Liam Geraghty confirmed that police consider the home was attacked by an individual or individuals unknown and that the hearth on Castleview Park was deliberately began.
He described the arson as a ‘reckless, callous and murderous attack on a family home’.
Cllr Claire Murray said on Facebook: ‘It is difficult to place into words how devastated persons are.
‘The lack of such innocent life is inexcusable. May their poor souls rest in everlasting peace.
‘Edenderry is a darker place today.’
Irish Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan strongly condemned what he described as a ‘deliberate callous attack’ on the home.
‘There is no such thing as a place in a civilised society for such heinous violence. I join An Garda Siochana in appealing to anyone with information to come back forward,’ he told RTE.
(Credits: Aisling Hyland/PA Wire)
SuptGeraghty added: ‘A second woman, aged in her 50s, was transported from the scene by the National Ambulance Service and is receiving hospital treatment for serious injuries.
‘The home has been declared against the law scene and is currently subject to technical examination by the Garda technical bureau.
‘The office of the local coroner and the state pathologist have been notified.’
He added: ‘The stays of each deceased have been faraway from the scene and post-mortems will likely be carried out by the assistant state pathologist Margot Bolster on the Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore, commencing this afternoon.
‘This murder investigation is being co-ordinated from an incident room at Tullamore garda station under the direction of a senior investigating officer.
‘An Garda Siochana believes that the home was attacked by an individual or individuals unknown right now, and that the hearth was deliberately began. This was a reckless, callous and murderous attack on a family home.’
Gardai are appealing for any person with any information on the incident to talk with investigating officers.
They’ve asked to talk with anyone who was within the vicinity of Castleview Park, or adjoining roads between 7pm and 8pm on Saturday, or who was driving within the vicinity of Castleview Park, or adjoining roads between 7pm and 8pm on Saturday, and could have any dashcam video footage or images to contact investigating Gardai.
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