‘This is one of the most serious and heinous of crimes’

A 15-year jail term, with the last five years suspended, was imposed on a young woman for setting fire to an apartment building in Mallow causing the deaths of two of her friends.

Insp Michael Corbett said Rachel Crawshaw was so reckless on the night she had set fire to the apartment in Mallow, she stayed in the burning building until gardaí rescued her and had to be stopped in her attempts to get back inside afterwards.

The 28-year-old was sentenced for two counts of manslaughter —the unlawful killing of John Palmer, aged 37, and Greg Lonergan, aged 36, at Granary Court, St Joseph’s Rd, Mallow, between March 12 and March 13, 2014 — and a charge of arson.