The murders of Philip and Kim English, and their two children Jayden and Callum, are believed to have been carried out by local drug gangs as an act of intimidation. Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie
drug intimidation
The funeral of Philip, Kim, Callum and Jayden English heard that they were “all innocent victims of a web of evil which is the drugs trade”.
THE COUSIN OF the man who was killed alongside his wife and their two sons in an arson attack on their home in Waterford last week has appealed to young people to “please walk away from drugs”.
Philip and Kim English and their sons Callum (12) and Jayden (9) died following the attack in the Birchwood estate on Tuesday.
The attack is believed to have been carried out by local drug gangs as an act of intimidation.
Investigators believe it was a case of drug debt intimidation, and that the criminals who commissioned it were attempting to intimidate people known to family members rather than anyone who was present in the house at the time.
The funeral of the four members of the English family took place in Waterford this afternoon.
Speaking near the end of the service, Philip’s cousin Ray made a direct plea to the young people in Waterford and around the country.
“Please walk away from drugs. Please ask for help when it comes to addiction. Please ask for help if you’re led being down a bad path,” he said.
“Please choose a life, choose hope. Please, most certainly, choose a future.”
Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan also spoke near the end of the service. He said Philip, Kim, Callum and Jayden were “all innocent victims of a web of evil which is the drugs trade”.
“As a country, I ask have we really faced up to this problem? It is a fact that in every city, town, village and townland, harmful drugs are available. Up and down this dear land of ours, some people are turning to drugs,” he said.
“Young lives and the lives of the not-so-young are being destroyed by drugs, and those who work behind the scenes need to see the consequences of their dark trade and atone for their sin.”
The bishop of Waterford and Lismore said the late Pope Francis often said that everything is connected, adding that anyone who deals in drugs “is contributing to a deadly darkness”.
Anyone in Ireland who thinks that there is no harm in taking a line of cocaine on the weekend is utterly mistaken and is also feeding this evil machine.
He said he did not come to judge, but “to ask you all to join with me in saying this must stop”.
“We must see what is happening to our country and our communities, and if the demand for drugs dries up, then the supply disappears. Please join with me in proclaiming that there is another way to live, a better way to live.”
Cullinan concluded: “Maybe the deaths of Kim and Phil, Callum and Jayden will bring about a change for good. Maybe we will see we can change the direction which many are taking and find a better way to live with hope and love and faith.”
He encouraged anyone with information to convey it confidentially to the authorities.
Two people appeared before a special sitting of Clonmel District Court on Saturday charged in connection with the arson attack.
Cian Stacey (21) and Jessica Dalton (31) were each charged with one count of criminal damage and two counts of assault causing serious harm.
Both were remanded in custody to appear before Waterford District Court on Tuesday.