Three additional suspects detained in Waterford petrol-bomb killings

Gardaí in Waterford have taken into custody a man in his 50s and two women in their 30s, raising the number of people arrested in connection with the petrol-bomb attack on a Birchwood estate house to five. The explosion killed Philip English, his wife Kim, and their sons Callum, 12, and Jayden, 9, while a teenage girl and a six-year-old boy were rescued but remain critically injured. Investigators believe the arson was commissioned by a local drugs gang demanding €20,000 from Philip English as settlement for a debt owed by someone else.

Earlier arrests of a 21-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman have already resulted in charges and custody. The latest suspects are being detained under section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007 while authorities continue to search homes, seize vehicles and phones, and appeal for further information.