THE garda investigation into the deaths of a woman, her two children and a family friend in Newcastle West has been completed.

STUMBLING blocks have been encountered in the huge investigation into the murders of a mother, her two children and a family friend in Newcastle West, a court heard yesterday.

A MAN aged 31 was last night charged with the murders of two women and two children at Newcastle West, Co Limerick, last Monday.

A man suspected of murdering his ex-lover, her two children and friend allegedly took a kitchen knife from his rented home before the attack, it emerged tonight.

Detectives were today trying to piece together the final moments before two women and two children were violently murdered in a quiet suburban estate.