A FOURTH person has died following a horrific shooting incident in Fermanagh that police are treating as a murder-suicide.
The shocking incident, which took place at a house in Maguiresbridge on Wednesday, July 23, had already claimed the lives of a mother and her two children.
Ian Rutledge has died in hospitalPacemaker Press
He is the fourth person to die following a brutal shooting in FermanaghPacemaker Press
Vanessa Whyte, her son James, and daughter Sara died in the same incidentPSNI/PA Wire
Vanessa Whyte, her son James, 14, and daughter Sara, 13, were shot dead in the horrific incident.
And police confirmed that Ian Rutledge, 43, who had been in a serious condition in hospital following the incident, has died this evening.
The agricultural contractor was the only suspect in the murder investigation.
A PSNI spokesperson said: “The Police Service of Northern Ireland has confirmed that a fourth person has now died following a shooting incident in Maguiresbridge.
“Police have named the deceased as Ian Rutledge, who was 43 years old.
“Mr Rutledge was taken to hospital on Wednesday 23 July, where he remained in a serious condition. He passed away this evening, 28 July.
“Detectives have reiterated their appeal for anyone with information, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to come forward.”
Cops have launched a suspected triple homicide and suicide probe.
The shock incident took place in the Drummeer Road area of Maguiresbridge early Wednesday morning.
The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service said it received a 999 call from inside the house at 8.21am on Wednesday.
Three emergency ambulances, one rapid response paramedic, two ambulance officers and an ambulance doctor were dispatched to the scene.
AWFUL TRAGEDY
Two people were pronounced dead at the scene and a third died in hospital.
PSNI Superintendent Robert McGowan said the incident was ongoing when police arrived at the scene on Wednesday morning.
On Saturday, detectives from the major investigation team said they are continuing with their inquiries and appealed for information involving the movements of a vehicle.
Detective Chief Inspector Neil McGuinness said: “Our investigation is ongoing and we are working tirelessly to determine the exact circumstances of this tragedy.
“I would continue to appeal generally for anyone with information to come forward, and more specifically, I would ask anyone who saw a silver Mercedes saloon car being driven in the Clones Road area of Newtownbutler, or between Maguiresbridge and Newtownbutler, on the evening of Tuesday July 22 to call detectives on 101, quoting reference 276 23/07/25.
FUNERAL TO TAKE PLACE
“Anyone who was travelling in the area and who may have captured dashcam footage which could assist, please get in touch.”
Vanessa, a vet who worked within the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Enniskillen, was originally from Barefield, a village near Ennis in Co Clare.
It is understood that the funeral of Ms Whyte and her two children will take place in Barefield later this week.
It comes after hundreds of people attended a prayer service for the mother and two kids in Barefield last night.
PRAYER SERVICE
Parish priest Fr Tom Fitzpatrick said that Ms Whyte was a woman who loved her children “fiercely”, and wanted the best for them.
He described how she worked hard and laughed a lot, and carried burdens “we may never fully understand”.
Fr Fitzpatrick added: “Vanessa Whyte and her son James and daughter Sara, the unspeakable tragedy that has befallen our parish is something that is very hard to focus in on and get our minds around.
“But we’re here, and that’s the main thing. And we are here as well, not just praying for the three of them tonight in a very special way, and asking the Lord to take them to himself, that they be at peace. And I know they are.
VANESSA ‘GAVE AND GAVE’
“We’re also here to remember and be a support for (Vanessa’s mother) Mary and her family, and the siblings. They’re at home tonight, they decided not to come. It might be easier for themselves, and for ourselves here too, maybe if they were just looking in online from home.
“So we’re thinking of them in a very special way. Tonight we come to remember Vanessa and to hold Vanessa’s family.”
Three candles representing Ms Whyte, James and Sara sat on the altar.
Those gathered were told that she was a woman who “gave and gave”.
‘HER LIFE WAS INCREDIBLY PRECIOUS’
Fr Fitzpatrick added: “Vanessa was a mother. She was a daughter, a sister, an aunty and a great friend to so many people.
“She was a woman who loved her children fiercely she wanted the best for them. She worked hard, and she laughed a lot, and she carried burdens that we may never ever fully understand.
“Her life was incredibly precious. James and Sara, young lives just beginning, so full of promise, so loved, so full of light, they’ve been taken away from this world all too soon in a violent way.
“We just find it impossible, my dear friends, to make sense of any of it. We cannot rationalise what should never have taken place, what we can do is remember the pain that we feel now, that pain is borne out of love.
‘PRICE WE PAY FOR LOVE’
“If we didn’t love Vanessa, and so many of you would have known her, and if we didn’t love her children, we wouldn’t be grieving. This heartbreak is the price we pay for love, but it is also love in itself that will help Vanessa’s family and all of us indeed, to carry it over the weeks and months to come.
“Mary, I know you’re at home and you’re listening. She was Vanessa’s beloved mother, and her grief is a very deep ocean indeed.
“No mother should ever have to endure this. And yet, Mary, I know, will find herself surrounded by people who care deeply.
He said the family’s hearts have been “fractured beyond belief”.
He added: “You have lost a sister, a niece and a nephew, and there are no words that can fill the space that they have left behind. But you’re not alone.
“You are held by a community of people who are walking with you through this darkness.”
“She will meet them over the next number of days. These same people, all of us here, will stand beside her, not just during these dark days, but in the days and the weeks to come as well.”
IF you’ve been affected contact the Samaritans on the freephone 116123 or email [email protected].
The funeral of Ms Whyte and her two children will take place later this weekPacemaker Press
Cops have launched a suspected triple murder-suicide probePacemaker Press Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
