Man and woman arrested over Waterford petrol bombing knew family that was targeted
Gardaí are anticipating further arrests following the detention of two suspects by detectives investigating the murders of four members of the English family in Waterford city. The man (20s) and woman (30s) being questioned on Thursday night knew Philip and Kim English and their children, Callum (12) and Jayden (9), but are not related to the family. The Irish Times understands the man and woman are suspected of being linked to a family-based Waterford drugs gang gardaí believe ordered the arson attack, rather than being senior figures in that group. Gardaí believe them to have been centrally involved in the attack, and that they were present at the time. The attack was carried out as part of a campaign of intimidation, for more than three years, aimed at collecting a €20,000 drugs debt incurred by an associate of Philip English, who was not involved in crime. “Both individuals are currently detained under section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007 in a Garda station in the Garda Eastern region,” the Garda said of Thursday’s arrests. Both suspects can now be held for up to seven days without charge as they have been detained under legislation intended for use during the investigation of alleged serious organised crime. They were being questioned about the assistance they allegedly gave to a crime gang in the commission of the arson attack on the house at Birch Avenue, in the Birchwood estate, just after 5am on Tuesday. It claimed the lives of the couple and their sons. Their joint funerals are due to be held at the Sacred Heart Church, the Folly in Waterford on Monday, followed by burial at Kilbarry Cemetery. Two other children – a girl (14) and a boy (6) – were rescued by firefighters and remain critically ill in Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) in Crumlin, Dublin. Sinn Féin councillor John Hearne said the impact of the fatal fire on the people of Waterford is comparable to the 1981 fire at the Stardust nightclub in north Dublin which killed 48 young people. He called on Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan to go to Waterford and make it clear these crimes would not be tolerated and signal “we’re going to have radical change”. He added he knew Philip English well, as he had approached the councillor on a number of occasions for help with problems. “He was a lad who would be chatting all the time,” Hearne told RTE’s Six One News. Waterford had seen intimidation incidents on drug debts of up to €70,000, and urged anyone in a similar situation to contact the Garda. People had had fingers cut off in drug-related intimidation, which led victims into an “absolute fear that smothers them and drowns them”. In another case, a woman was hit in the head with a hammer and he was aware of an incident where a petrol bomb thrown into a house landed in a baby’s cot, injuring the mother and baby. He insisted “there is a way out of the darkness” and gardaí were very responsive once a report was made. He knew of cases where gardaí had put suspects under surveillance and were watching them, and arrested them, as they moved or used petrol bombs. “The community hate these people and everybody hates them and if you get the whole community in a fight like this you can’t lose,” he said, insisting people could not continue paying drug dealers as it would only lead to “a miserable life”. As part of the investigation in Waterford, a number of vehicles, phones and laptops have already been seized for examination, during searches carried out across the city on Tuesday evening. Gardaí had been continuing to try to locate a vehicle of interest linked to the case in recent days. It is understood another vehicle was seized on Wednesday, though that was not confirmed by gardaí.