Drug-intimidation behind murder of Waterford family, son says
The scene at Birchwood Estate. Photo: Joe Evans
Gardaí believe that the victims of a fatal arson attack in Waterford City were targeted in relation to a drug debt.
Shortly after 5am Tuesday October 13, a family's home in the Birchwood estate was set on fire, claiming the lives of parents Kim and Philip English and their two sons Callum (12) and Jayden (8). Two more children are in Children’s Health Ireland Crumlin having suffered critical injuries.
The murders have sent shockwaves across Ireland and beyond, with many asking how an act of such horrific cruelty could happen against an innocent family.
An Garda Síochána are understood to believe that the English family were killed over a suspected drug debt.
Since 2023, the family home had been subjected to various attacks, as recently as September this year when their car was petrol-bombed.
The family had been trying to relocate to another home for their own safety, several Councillors have confirmed.
John James English, son of the deceased Philip, told RTÉ reporter Paul Reynolds that his family were ‘100%’ killed over someone else’s drug debt. Mr. English claimed that drug debt was worth €20,000, saying: “It’s a family. €20,000 worth of a debt. Is that worth nearly five lives?”
The circumstances of the murders will undoubtedly become clear as the Gardaí ramp up their investigations. Since October 13, Gardaí have raided a number of homes in the area and seized a number of electronic devices and vehicles for technical examination.
At the vigil in Sacred Heart Church, The Folly, Father Gerry Chestnutt called on those behind the attack to reveal themselves: “I want to say, even though they’re not here, the persons responsible need to have the courage to stand up and admit what you did and face the consequences of what you did.”
The multiple murders at Birchwood have brought to the fore the terrifying reality of drug-related violence and intimidation.
Over the past number of years, organised crime gangs in Waterford have used ‘drug debts’ to extort, blackmail and force people to commit crimes on their behalf.
In 2023, Detective Inspector Donal Donohoe addressed a meeting in Waterford City Hall about the rise of drug-related intimidation. He said: “We are seeing in the last number of years, where one person owes a drug debt, it has an impact on the extended family, and this is a relatively new feature of the drug scene.
“The type of intimidation ranges from threats, violence, criminal damage, assault, sexual violence, and hostile takeovers.” “A whole family can be affected by one person owing the money.” In the three years since Det. Donohoe’s address, Waterford has now seen the extent of the reckless violence brought by these criminal gangs.
