Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Man charged with 4 murders in house blaze
27yr-old to appear in court tomorrow
A MAN has been charged with murder after the death of four people in a house fire.
The members of the same family died in a blaze at the property they rented in Derrylin, Co Fermanagh, on Tuesday.
The deceased have been named as Edward Gossett, 16, his 19-yearold sister Diane, their mother Crystal Gossett and Diane’s young daughter.
Last night, police confirmed a 27-year-old man has been charged with four counts of murder and one count of arson with intent to endanger life.
The family were from Doncaster in England but had been living in the Fermanagh village for around 18 months.
Neighbours were alerted to the fire after 7am and police confirmed that three people had died at the scene.
Two days later the PSNI revealed the remains of a young child had been recovered in the property.
Landlord Tommy Fee told how he tried to rescue the four when he was called to the blaze in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
He said: “I tried to see what I could do. I looked into the bedroom window and tried to get in through the door.
“There was a lot of smoke and a lot of flames. The whole place was heating up. Flames were gushing out.”
Sinn Fein MLA Michelle Gildernew added: “The community here is stunned. We have a very strong and a very tightknit community here in Derrylin and we extend our sympathies to the family of those who died.
“The community here will rally round them and give whatever help and support they can. It is tragic for everyone involved.”
UUP MLA Rosemary Barton said: “It has the left the community in a state of total shock and disbelief as to what has happened.”
The accused man is due to appear at Enniskillen Magistrates’ Court tomorrow.