In brief
Gardaí announced that three people arrested in connection with the tragic February blaze that claimed the lives of the English family have been released without charge. A fourth suspect remains in custody as investigators assess motives. The fire tore through a semi‑detached home on Birch Avenue, leaving four dead, including two children. Police carried out initial charges on a man in his 20s and a woman in her 30s, but later released two women and a man in their 30s to 50s. The community mourns as flowers pile outside the cordoned site.
Gardaí said on Tuesday that three suspects arrested in connection with the February blaze that claimed the lives of Philip and Kim English and their children, 12‑year‑old Callum and 9‑year‑old Jayden, had been released without charge. A fourth suspect remains in custody.
The four‑storey semi‑detached house on Birch Avenue, on the outskirts of Waterford, was set alight early last month. Four people were found dead inside; a 12‑year‑old boy died from a broken neck and a 9‑year‑old girl succumbed to smoke inhalation.
Gardaí first charged a man in his 20s and a woman in her 30s on Tuesday. Those two were detained but not charged. On Saturday, police announced that two women in their 30s and a man in his 50s, who had been arrested that Tuesday, were released.
The man in his 20s arrested on Thursday remains under police custody, as investigators are still assessing the motive and any potential connections to the suspects who have been released.
"We are still working to understand the full circumstances of the fire and any links between the four people who were arrested," a gardaí spokesperson said. "The community is heart‑broken, and we remain committed to bringing any responsible parties to justice."
The case has drawn national attention. Flowers and memorials have been left outside the cordoned‑off home, as neighbours gather to mourn the loss of the family.
In‑Depth Coverage: Full BBC report
