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Vigil to be held after family found dead in house in Ballymena
Image source, PA Media-
Published
A vigil is to be held in Ballymena on Wednesday evening for the victims of what is being treated as a double murder and suicide in the town.
Police launched a murder investigation after three people – a 41-year-old man, a 39-year-old woman and an eight-year-old girl – were found dead at a house on the Cullybackey Road at 09:00 BST on Monday.
The family was originally from Poland, although it is understood the child was born in Northern Ireland.
The vigil will be held at the Braid Arts Centre at 18:30 BST.
Prayers were said for the family during a service at All Saints Catholic Church on Wednesday morning.
It is understood the woman who was found dead was the girl’s mother.
The honorary consul of Poland in Northern Ireland, Jerome Mullen, said he had never experienced such a tragedy in his 18 years in the job.
PSNI Supt William Calderwood said emergency services were met with a “shocking scene”.
Police have said the cause of the deaths has not been formally established and they are not seeking anyone else in relation to the deaths.
At a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Calderwood said they were keeping an open mind, but they were working on a “strong hypothesis” of a “double murder followed by a sudden death”.
He expressed his deepest sympathies to family members, friends and loved ones for their “unimaginable loss”.
‘Extra dimension of horror’
The MP for the area, Jim Allister of the Traditional Unionist Voice, said it added an “extra dimension of horror” knowing that an eight-year-old girl had died.
“My heart goes out to the relatives in the Ballymena area and to those in Poland. I am also mindful of the school friends of the child and the distress they will suffer,” he said.
Justice Minister Naomi Long said she sent her heartfelt sympathy to family members affected by the deaths.
At the scene: ‘Forever loved’
Sunflowers and daisies.
They were among the array of floral tributes left at the back of the property, in memory of those who had their lives cut short in a most tragic way.
One card read: ‘Forever loved and never forgotten. Taken far too soon.’
A lit candle flickered among the flowers, where a teddy bear was also perched.
Above the tributes, a police cordon surrounding the scene remained in place.
