Deaths suspect arrested in Kilkee bar

A 31-year-old man was arrested in a Kilkee bar on Tuesday afternoon in connection with the deaths of two children and two women in a house in Newcastle West.

The suspect was arrested by two experienced Kilrush-based detectives and a local garda sergeant.
Sarah Hines, her three-year-old son, Reece; five-month-old baby daughter, Amy and another woman, Alicia Brough, from Cork, were found stabbed to death in the house in the Hazelgrove estate on Tuesday at approximately 2pm. Up to 25 gardaí subsequently took part in the search for the man and it quickly focussed on Kilkee.
“We were alerted to the situation at about 2.30pm or so,” Inspector Tom Kennedy told The Clare Champion. “We were told that the suspect was believed to be in Kilkee. We had a description of him and as a result of that, we commenced an operation in Kilkee whereby we drafted in Kilrush gardaí and back-up people from Ennis and the Regional Support Unit from Galway,” he added.
Initially, the search was carried out by a squad car from Kilrush Garda Station before garda reinforcements arrived from Ennis and Galway.
“The information we were operating on was that he may have been in Kilkee because there was a phone call apparently made from Kilkee to somebody down in Newcastle West. We searched the entire area of Kilkee, including the streets and roads. We didn’t know whether he had a car or not. We also began to carry out a systematic search of the public houses, hotels and shops. The suspect was located in a bar in Kilkee at about 4.15pm,” Inspector Kennedy explained.
“There was no resistance. He verified who he was and was brought directly to Henry Street in Limerick,” he said.
Inspector Kennedy added that no link had yet been established between the suspect and Kilkee.
“We haven’t established any connections with Kilkee. We understand he has no connections with Kilkee. We don’t know why he went there. We understand he came the previous evening on a bus. We’re also exploring the notion that he might have come across on the ferry. We’re exploring the idea that he stayed in a local hotel but we have to clarify that,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the man, who is believed to be the partner of one of the dead women, was taken to hospital in Cork for surgery on Wednesday. 
State Pathologist Dr Maire Cassidy was due to visit the scene in Newcastle West on Wednesday.