Gardai are now treating the death of two children in the car fire tragedy as murder, it has emerged.
The Irish Mirror has confirmed that the deaths of siblings Thelma, five, and her two-year-old brother Michael have now been formally classified within the force as murder.
And sources have confirmed that the investigation into their deaths is now that of a full murder inquiry.
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And the Mirror has also established that gardai are now satisfied that the family car was deliberately set on fire and that an accelerant such as petrol was likely used.
The grim development into the kids' deaths came as Garda Commissioner Drew Harris confirmed that there was now a criminal investigation into Friday night’s horror blaze at Lacken near Multyfarnham in Co Westmeath.
Speaking to RTE in Galway, Commissioner Harris said: “This is now a crime investigation, we’re investigating this as suspicious circumstances around these deaths and we’re regarding it now as a crime investigation.
“In particular, we would ask the public for their support in helping us with this investigation.
“Anyone who was moving in the Lacken/Multyfarnham area last Friday between about 2pm and 3.30pm, 3.40pm, if they took dashcam footage, if they saw anything suspicious, please report to the gardai.”
The siblings perished in the horror blaze – while their mother Lynn Egar, who is in her 40s, suffered serious injuries in the incident.
She was pulled from the blazing car by a passing lorry driver, who also managed to rescue the two kids.
Michael died at the scene and little Thelma lost her fight for life shortly after she was rushed to the Midlands Regional Hospital in Tullamore, Co Offaly a short time later.
Ms Egar, who lives in the nearby village of Rathowen, was being treated for those wounds in a specialist Dublin hospital last night.
The mother-of-four is now expected to survive and gardai hope to be able to speak to her in the coming days.
Meanwhile, a memorial has been set up in memory of the children outside St Cremin’s National School in Multyfarnham.
Framed photographs of the two children were placed on a table alongside candles, teddy bears and flowers.
Hundreds of people also took part in a vigil in the town on Sunday evening. St Cremin’s principal Karl Dermody said everyone was devastated to learn of the sudden death of a beloved member of its community.
He said: “Thelma will be remembered by classmates and teachers as a warm, happy, and vibrant member of St Cremin’s National School.
“We offer our sincere condolences to friends and family members as they come to terms with this tragic loss of life.
“As a school, our priority will be to take every step to ensure that the needs of our pupils and their families are met, at this challenging time.
“We will provide support to pupils and school staff to help them deal with this tragedy.
“Psychologists from the National Educational Psychological Services have been with us in our school supporting staff and parents.”
Local priest Fr John O’Brien yesterday said the area was filled with grief and despair over the tragedy. He told RTE: “The sense of unreality that we have to face a terrible tragedy.
“The sense of unreality: did it really happen and, all of a sudden, we realise yes it did. The two little kids are dead.
“So, there’s an overwhelming feeling of sadness, disbelief and not being able to find words yet to put on it.
“The other thing people are doing at the moment is just meeting informally.
“Mothers are talking about it and they’re worried about their kids going to school tomorrow, how they’re going to face the news.
“It’s going to be hard on the teachers and very hard on the little ones who are going to face this terrible sense of grief and loss. That’s really where the healing begins.”
And Taoiseach Michael Martin also expressed his sadness at the tragedy as he attended the Fianna Fail party think-in in nearby Mullingar.
He added: “We’re all deeply conscious of the terrible tragedy that happened at nearby Multyfarnham with the two young children [who] passed away in the most tragic of circumstances,” he said.
“To their family, their mother and their classmates, their teachers, we extend our deepest sympathies at this very, very traumatic time for the entire community.”
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