Wexford Deaths and Fire treated as suspicious

Gardaí have confirmed that they are treating the death of a family in a house fire in County Wexford early today as suspicious. (see my entry from this morning)

Tonight they said that Dermot and Lorraine Flood, whose bodies were found along with their two children in their burnt-out home in Clonroche, Co. Wexford, had "injuries other than those sustained in a fire".

Speaking outside Enniscorthy Garda station, Superintendent Kevin Donohue from the Garda Press Office said that all four family members had injuries from the fire. He added that the bodies of 41-year-old Dermot Flood and his 38-year-old wife Lorraine had also "other injuries". What those injuries are and how they were caused will only become clear later, once the post-mortem examinations have taken place.

According to a report by RTÉ News both adults suffered apparently gunshot wounds.

Superintendent Donohue said the bodies of the two children, six-year-old Mark and five-year-old Julie Flood, did not have injuries other than those sustained in the fire. He also confirmed that a shotgun was located in the house and said that it was "licensed to a member of the wider family".

The Superintendent said it was not clear yet whether or not there was third party involvement in the deaths, but at the moment Gardaí were not looking for anyone else specifically.
He confirmed that the bodies of Lorraine and Julie Flood were found in their upstairs bedrooms. Mark Flood's body was found on the landing and Dermot Flood was located in a downstairs room. The technical examination of the scene will continue for a number of days, he added.

Meanwhile the bodies of the family have been removed from the scene and are being taken to the Dublin City Morgue in Marino. Post-mortem examinations will take place tomorrow morning at 11 a.m.

The fire in the two-storey house on the Enniscorthy road was spotted by neighbours of the family in Clonroche just after 5.30 a.m. this morning. At least one neighbour entered the house to attempt to rescue the family, but was beaten back by flames and smoke.