A HOUSE in Co Sligo where a father and two children died of carbon monoxide poisoning underwent a major forensic examination yesterday as gardaí tried to confirm the origin of the gas that killed them.
Trevor Wallwork (50), his daughter Kim (12) and his son Harry (9) were found dead at their home on Sunday night by Mr Wallwork’s older stepdaughter.
Gardaí believe a coal fire burning in the room where the three victims were found was the source of the fatal emissions which led to the deaths.
However, gardaí said a full examination of the house for other possible sources was being conducted to ensure there were no doubts about the cause of the deaths.
Teams from the Garda Technical Bureau were at the bungalow at Moygara, Gurteen, throughout the day yesterday.
The parish priest in charge of the school attended by the children paid tribute to them yesterday.
Fr Joe Caulfield, chairman of the board of management of Mullaghroe National School in Gurteen, said Kim, who was in sixth class, and Harry, who was in fourth class, had taken lessons in the senior room of the two-teacher school. He recalled that Harry started school at Mullaghroe as an infant before he moved into the senior room to join Kim.
“The two children were always happy and full of energy. They got great support in the school. Kim was a very caring person and she was always looking after Harry. She always looked out for him.”
Fr Caulfield remembered meeting Mr Wallwork on a few occasions when he brought the children to school. “He was very happy the children were able to settle down so well in the school.”
Mr Wallwork, the children and their stepmother, Sue, arrived in Gurteen from England six years ago. Ms Wallwork’s daughter, Vicki Barnes (22), travelled with them, and it was she who discovered the bodies on Sunday night after she left her home in Tubbercurry to call to her stepfather and step-siblings.
Schoolmates of the deceased children were counselled on dealing with the tragedy by staff from the National Educational Psychological Service on Monday.
Yesterday, Sligo’s chief fire officer Paul Coyle and executives from his service visited the isolated bungalow where Mr Wallwork and his two children had been watching television in front of a Christmas tree with lights on in the sittingroom when they died.