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Gardaí, who is investigating a murder-suicide that left three members of the same family dead followed by inheritance, believes the killers deliberately chose to allow the woman in the center of the row to survive the tragedy.
Gardaí believes that after autopsies on the bodies of Tadg O’Sullivan (59) and his sons, Mark (26) and Diarmuid (23), and preliminary ballistic evidence that Mr. O’Sullivan snr and Diarmuid shot Mark in his room at the family farm in Raheen, Kanturk around 6.40am on Monday.
Post-mortem examination by Assistant State Pathologist Dr. Margot Bolster confirmed that Mark O’Sullivan was shot seven times, and Gardaí believes both Mr. O’Sullivan snr and Diarmuid shot him with two .22 rifles that were legally held.
It is understood that Mr. O’Sullivan’s wife, Ann, who had planned to leave at least part of the 115-acre farm to Mark, heard a commotion around 6.30am and stepped out into a hallway and saw her husband and his youngest son shoot from the entrance to the bedroom where Mark slept.
Mark is believed to have attempted to get up from the bunk after the first shot, but then collapsed to the ground when he received six more shots from the rifles, one of which was a semi-automatic weapon and the other a bolt. action rifle.
Ms. O’Sullivan fled the scene in her nightgown, taking her mobile phone with her, but Mr. O’Sullivan snr and Diarmuid caught up with her in the corral and took the phone from her, smashing it with a mallet before confronting her over the row on inheritance.
It is understood that one of the two told him, “I hope you think the land is worth it now,” before saying that they planned to kill themselves and would find them near a fairy fort on the farm.
Neighboring farm
Ms. O’Sullivan, who had been discharged from the hospital just two weeks earlier after surgery for a serious medical condition, struggled to reach a neighboring farm in the dark sometime after 7 a.m. to give the alarm, saying her husband and Diarmuid had shot. Brand.
Kanturk’s Gardaí responded quickly but, upon reaching the farmhouse, where Ms. O’Sullivan was being comforted, they learned that two more shots had been heard around 7.10am and, unsure of the situation, they held back and formed a cordon a safe distance from the O’Sullivan family farm.
Armed and uniformed detectives from the North Cork Division held a cordon in holding Raheen until a commander arrived at the Cork City Division site to take over the operation and were joined by members around 9 a.m. of the Armed Support Unit (ASU) of Cork.
The Gardaí also installed an exterior cordon that prevented traffic from heading toward the O’Sullivan estate, as a trained negotiator joined the Gardaí on the interior cordon and tried to interact with anyone who might be in the house.
Subsequently, Gardaí in the inner cordon were joined by more ASU teams from Limerick, Waterford and Claremorris in Co Mayo and members of the Dublin Emergency Response Unit (ERU) who have a higher level of training to deal with emergency situations. siege and hostages.
According to Garda sources, Gardaí was aware of reports that Mr O’Sullivan and Diarmuid had stated that they intended to commit suicide, but felt that they could not risk entering the house because they were not sure if there were one or more people detained. hostage to one or two gunmen.
Negotiators
They also decided to maintain their position on the cordon to avoid a possible shootout with the gunman or men and it was only after the trained negotiator got no response after five hours of trying to contact someone in the house that they made the decision. decision to enter the property.
Armed members of the ERU, equipped with bulletproof shields, forced their way through the main gate around 1 p.m., supported by armed members of the regional armed support unit, and discovered the body of Mark O’Sullivan in his bedroom.
Mark O’Sullivan was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Gardaí could find no sign of Mr. O’Sullivan snr and Diarmuid O’Sullivan, but the Garda Air Support Unit helicopter saw two bodies lying next to a fairy fort about four fields from the house around the 1.40pm and members of the ERU and ASU made their way to the scene.
There they found the bodies of Mr O’Sullivan snr and Diarmuid O’Sullivan, each with a single gunshot wound to the head, while next to them they found the two rifles and also a 12-page letter of apparent suicide written by Diarmuid , tied to her thigh with cling film.
The suicide note, which was written before the two men shot Mark O’Sullivan, indicated that the two men had been planning the murder for some time when Mrs. O’Sullivan and Mark had been in Dublin while she was away. undergoing surgery for a serious medical problem. condition.
Gardaí is satisfied with the autopsies of Mr. O’Sullivan snr and Diarmuid performed by Dr. Bolster that each man took his own life and they believe that the suicides had been planned in advance.
If you are affected by any issues in this article, please contact Pieta House at 1800 247 247 or the Samaritans by calling 116 123 (toll free) or emailing [email protected]
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