Carbon Monoxide blamed for family deaths

Trevor Wallwork (50), his daughter Kim (12) and son Harry (9) died on Sunday evening in their remote country bungalow at Moygara, Gurteen, while they were watching television.

They were discovered by Mr Wallwork’s stepdaughter Vicki Barnes (22), when she was unable to get an answer to her telephone calls and she drove to the house from her home in nearby Tubbercurry.

Toxicology tests are to be carried out on the three bodies following the completion of post mortem examinations at Sligo General Hospital last night.

Gardaí said the remaining tests would take a number of weeks to complete, but they said the post mortems indicated the deaths were caused by carbon monoxide poisoning.

They said there was a gas container linked to a heater in the hallway and they believed the family was heating the rest of the house with that.

In addition there was a coal fire burning in the sitting-room where the family were watching television. A Garda source said the origin of the poisoning appeared to be the coal fire.

Forensics officers will continue investigations today to establish what the ventilation was like in the sitting-room.

Neighbours and gardaí said Ms Barnes found Mr Wallwork in an armchair and the children on the floor of the living room. The television in the room was still on.

Ms Barnes’s mother, Sue – Mr Wallwork’s wife – was in Sligo General Hospital being treated for an illness.

Ms Barnes discovered the bodies after 9.30pm on Sunday and she alerted the ambulance service. A local doctor pronounced the three occupants of the house dead at the scene just before 11pm. Two dogs were also found dead in the house.

Overnight, gardaí sealed off the area surrounding the house. They remained there until the arrival of Deputy State Pathologist Michael Curtis yesterday.

A neighbour said the first she knew of the tragedy was when she heard the ambulance arrive at about 10.10pm on Sunday. She said: “I didn’t even hear Vicki’s car arrive earlier. We heard later that she couldn’t get in contact with her stepdad or the children and she drove to the house.”

The couple had moved to Sligo from their home in England six years ago. The neighbour said: “They kept themselves to themselves. I only heard Sue wasn’t very well a few months ago.”