John James English said the family had been terrorised for years

Son says arson victims murdered over €20k drugs debt

14 Oct 2026, 15:59 by Paul Reynolds, https://www.facebook.com/rtenews/ · RTE.ie

The son of the man who was murdered in a firebomb attack in Waterford, along with his wife and two of his children, has said they were killed because of someone else's €20,000 drugs debt.

John James English told RTÉ News that the family had been terrorised for years.

Mr English said the home of his mother, who was Philip's first wife, had also been petrol-bombed.

Ann English, Philip's first wife, said at the murder scene that she had no words for what had happened and she had lost her best friend.

She described Philip, Kim and the children as a lovely family and appealed to anyone with information on the murders to contact the gardaí.

Philip and Kim English and their two young children died in the arson attack

Philip and Kim English and their two young children, 12-year-old Callum and nine-year-old Jayden, died when their home was firebombed at 5am on Monday.

Their two other children, a 14-year-old girl and a six-year-old boy, remain in a critical condition in hospital.

John James English said he knows who was involved and he is not scared of them. His family were innocent people, he said, attacked over someone else's drug debt of €20,000.

People have been going to the Birchwood Estate all day to lay flowers at the murder scene.

Principal of Scoil Lorcain, Caroline Douris, and some of the teachers at the local primary school, said that two of the children attended the school.

The principal and teachers also went to pay their respects.

Ms Douris described Callum as a beautiful child who along with his brother was full of life.

The home was firebombed at 5am on Monday morning

Gardaí said there are people in the community who know the person or people who carried out the arson attack that resulted in the multiple murders and renewed their appeal to those with information to come forward, a call echoed by the victims' family at the scene.

Philip's granduncle James English said whoever did it should own up because their family had been "wiped out".

Ann English said they were a lovely couple who loved and looked after their children and she had no words for what happened.

Gardaí described the investigation as intense and very active, with multiple searches carried out across a number of premises in Waterford city last night, including at the homes of two significant criminal figures suspected of being heavily involved in drugs and drug debt intimidation.

They seized cars and electronic devices which are now being forensically examined but, so far, no arrests have been made.

Gardaí say the murderous attack is linked to the drugs violence and intimidation but in this case organised crime has moved beyond the bounds of its own immediate circle of criminality, targeted a family, taken the lives of parents and children that have nothing to do with crime and left two other children fighting for their lives.