Man killed his family ‘as partner was to leave him’
Lorraine McGovern had packed a bag and was about to walk out on Arthur McElhill, taking the couple’s five children with her, when he torched their home in Omagh, Co Tyrone.
It is believed Ms McGovern, 29, had just found out her long-term partner was conducting a sexual relationship with the family’s underage babysitter.
After a four-day inquest into the deaths in November 2007, Northern Ireland coroner Suzanne Anderson found that 36-year-old McElhill, who had two previous convictions for sexual assault and a history of suicide attempts, had doused the hallway of the house in Lammy Crescent with petrol and white spirit just before 5am and lit it.
“I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that Arthur McElhill and Lorraine McGovern had been up all night and that she was about to leave, taking with her at least some of her children, when the fire was started by Arthur McElhill,” she said.
The relatives have been at odds since the tragedy, but as they emerged from Omagh courthouse Ms McGovern’s parents made a conciliatory gesture to the McElhills.
Kevin and Theresa McGovern acknowledged that their family had also suffered and passed on their sympathies.
“We are thankful and relieved that these proceedings have now concluded, which, we trust, will bring us closure on this awful tragedy and enable us get on with our lives,” they said in a joint statement read by their lawyer as they stood with heads bowed on the court steps.
“We are mindful that the McElhill family have also suffered greatly and we extend to them our sincere sympathy.”
While Ms McGovern and the children were laid to rest in the same grave, McElhill was buried in a different plot.
During the inquest relatives sat on opposite sides of the court, the tension between them palpable.
At the close, McElhill’s parents Charles and Patricia also conveyed the impact the fire has had on them.
“The events of two years ago have devastated and shattered our lives beyond belief,” they said in a joint statement issued by their lawyer.
“Our pain is immeasurable and it will endure for the rest of our lives.
“We love and miss Arthur, Lorraine and our grand-children every day. We will always remember them as a happy family.”
They added: “As parents we have always tried our best for our children. The duty of any parent is to teach their children the difference between right and wrong. Arthur was no different in that he was brought up to respect the same values as our other eight children.”
Both families paid tribute to the firefighters and other emergency services who battled in vain to try to save the family and to those people who had supported them in the two years since.
Earlier, the coroner said she could not rule conclusively that McElhill had intended to commit suicide, noting that he had broken an upstairs window in an apparent bid to escape the blaze.
The couple’s eldest child Caroline, 13, died, along with her siblings, Sean, seven, four-year-old Bellina, one-year-old Clodagh and 10-month-old baby James.
Ms Anderson said: “Both are grieving the loss of loved ones and both have endured so much and I would like to close by conveying to them my deepest sympathies.”
The inquest had commenced in October, but was adjourned after two days when the McElhills’ lawyers made an undisclosed legal application to the High Court. With that bid having failed, proceedings restarted yesterday.
During the three full days of evidence, the extent of McElhill’s sexual depravity emerged.
Not only had he been abusing the babysitter, but in the days before the fire he had also been bombarding another minor with explicit texts and calls pleading with her to have sex with him.
He was also attempting to groom other young girls on a Bebo social networking account by pretending to be his son, Sean.
After the inquest, the detective who led the police investigation DCI Derek Scott thanked all those who tried to rescue the family and those who had assisted in piecing together the events of the night, including firefighters, forensic experts and witnesses.
“The events of November 13, 2007, were a tragedy,” he said.
“They were a tragedy for two families, for the people of the Lammy area and for the wider Omagh community.
“The work of the fire service was phenomenal and the attempts by neighbours to save lives was heroic. All the efforts to rescue the family members in the face of what can only be described as an inferno were an example of care, compassion and dedication to the community.”
