Man held after discovery of ‘unreal’ murders

ONE of the worst multiple murders in the history of the state yesterday claimed the lives of a mother, her two young children and a friend.

A man who lived with one of the victims was arrested hours after the bodies were discovered in a rented house in Newcastle West.

The man, aged 31, from north Cork, was tracked to a pub in Kilkee, 130 kilometres from the murder scene, four hours after the grim discovery. He may have travelled to Co Clare on the Tarbert/Killimer car ferry.

He was being held last night at Henry Street garda station in Limerick.

All four victims died from multiple stab wounds at a rented house in 18 Hazegrove Estate near Newcastle West town centre.

They were named locally as Sarah Hines, 25, whose family live near Tournafulla, 25 kilometres from Newcastle West, her children, Reece, 3 and Amy, five months, and Sarah’s friend, Alicia Brock, 20, who was a native of Rockchapel.

Chief Supt David Sheahan described the murders as “unreal”.

Ms Hines and Ms Brock were found dead in a downstairs room. The two children were found in an upstairs room. All were dead and the scene indicated they died from multiple stab wounds in a frenzied attack.

Chief Supt Sheahan said: “The two ladies in their early 20s were found in a downstairs room and both had come across a violent death. Upstairs in a bedroom there was also two young children who were also dead and who also came across their death very violently indeed.”

Gardaí went to the house at Hazel Grove at 1.35pm after the suspect contacted a friend. This person in turn contacted gardaí, who made the grim discovery at the house.

The suspect only moved into the house at Hazel Grove with Sarah Hines within the last two weeks.

Locals said they were regularly seen out walking with the two children and their dog.

State pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy went to the scene late last night and post mortems will be carried out on all four bodies at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital today. Members of the Technical Bureau who travelled from Dublin commenced a huge forensic examination of the scene late last night using powerful lamps to light up the area around the house where the murders happened.

Local curate, Fr Richard Keane said: “We are totally shocked, stunned and sickened. Two young children and two women have been brutally murdered.”