4-Year-Old Boy, Woman, 60, Die in House Fire as Police Launch Murder Investigation

A murder investigation is underway after a 4-year-old boy and a 60-year-old woman died in a house fire in central Ireland.

Emergency services were called to a blaze at a home in Castleview Park, Edenderry, County Offaly, at around 7:45 p.m. local time on Saturday, Dec. 6. The victims have been identified as 4-year-old Tadhg Farrell and 60-year-old Mary Holt, Ireland’s National Police (INP) confirmed.

“Emergency services, including Offaly Fire and Rescue Service, National Ambulance Service and [INP] responded to the fire shortly after 7:45 p.m.,” INP Superintendent Liam Geraghty said at a press conference. “The fire was extinguished and the remains of two persons, a woman aged 60 and a 4-year-old boy, were discovered deceased.”

According to The Irish Times, Holt is believed to be the great aunt of Farrell.

A second woman, in her 50s, was taken to the hospital with “serious injuries,” Geraghty said. The outlet reported that she is understood to be Farrell’s grandmother.

Geraghty told reporters that investigators believe the fire was deliberately started and that the incident was a targeted attack on the home.

“This was a reckless, callous and murderous attack on a family home,” he said, adding that authorities are actively searching for suspects.

The property is being treated as a crime scene and is undergoing a technical examination by the Guard of Technical Bureau. Postmortem examinations on the two victims will be carried out at a later time.

“This murder investigation is being coordinated from an incident room at Turbo Garda station under the direction of a senior investigating officer and a family liaison officer has been appointed to the families,” Geraghty said.

The Irish Times reported that Gardaí believe a petrol bomb was thrown into the house, igniting the fire and trapping the victims in a downstairs room. The suspects are believed to be criminals with links to the drug trade, according to the outlet.

Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said in a statement, per The Irish Times, that police will “relentlessly pursue the violent and dangerous criminals responsible for this murderous attack.”

The investigation remains ongoing, and INP said they had no further updates to share at this time.