Irish Crime: The Flood Family Case Uncovered 

 Today, our case brings us to Clon Roach, a small village in County Wexford. It is known for its rural charm, local pubs, and proximity to attractions like Secret Valley Wildlife Park and the hills around Brie. It is a very close-knit community and although it is a cliche, everyone knows everyone and therefore it extends to everyone knowing your business whether you like it or not.

 But in saying that, this small community would say what would happen to one family they did not see it coming and the scars are still visible among them as no one wants to talk about it and you can understand why. The year is 2008 and the flood family seem to have it all. a good marriage, two beautiful children, a thriving business, and a lovely home.

The Flood family included 41-year-old Dear Flood, his 38-year-old wife Lorraine, a son six-year-old Mark, and a daughter 5-year-old Julie. Lorraine Ko was a local beauty, and she had a personality to match. At the age of 22, she was crowned strawberry fair queen in 1991. And from there, she went on to represent Watford in the Rose of Tril that August with her then boyfriend of 7 months, Dear Flood, at her side as her escort.

During her brief appearance on stage with Gay Burn as host, she was asked about her relationship to Darmmouth. Gay remarking on Lraine’s beauty told her that her eyes were like limpid pools of the Mediterranean. Lorraine spoke of her interests in music, playing the guitar, and participating in the local choir.

 She also spoke of how much she enjoyed being part of the clock bond variety group and working in insurance. Gay also asked Lorraine to point out Demouth in the audience, which she did, with Gay asking her, “Are you going to marry this fellow?” “Well, yes,” said Lorraine. “If he asks me, I will.

” “After 7 months,” retorted Gay. “No,” giggled Lorraine. This is an example of Lorraine’s confidence knowing what direction she wanted to take in life. Even at only 22, she wanted a husband and already in her head she had found him. He was the perfect man to give her children a stable home and live out her days in a village she loved.

Lorraine was a firm favorite to win the Rosa Trale that year, but didn’t. But this wasn’t the end of her involvement with the pageant. She continued to be actively involved in events for the Wexford Center, helping to find the next representative to attend the competition, even acting as a judge. The senses around all that knew Lorraine was that she had it all, looks, personality, and class.

 Lorraine was born in 1970 and came from a large family, parents Jim and Kathleen Ko, and six siblings, with Lorraine being the second youngest. The Kio family came from Cli near Eniscorthy and was a renowned sporting family in Wexford with a sporting background in hurling, kamogi and athletics. They are even related to international football player Kevin Doyle.

 Growing up in a sporting family, Lorraine’s real passion was health and fitness and she would finally get to have her chosen career when she married Dearmmouth 3 years after they first started dating. When their two children came along, she gave up her job in insurance and trained as a yoga and fitness instructor, holding two to three classes a week in the community hall.

 This also gave her the time to be involved in the local drama society and sing in the choir while still being there for her children who went to the local primary school in Clon Roach. Dear was from a wellrespected family in Clon Roach who were also a prominent fixture in the local GA which is the Gaelic Athletic Association a sporting body in Ireland.

 Dear and Lorraine were both well known to each other before they began dating. Dear worked for his father’s company Shaun Flood Water Pumps Limited and was one of the directors. Dear was nephew to legendary Wexford hurler Tim Flood and he therefore had a deep connection with the GAA going back years.

 Dear had always noticed Lorraine when they were both at school. But it wasn’t until she turned 21 that he had gathered enough courage to ask her out and the rest is history. By 1998, Demouth had taken over the family business with Lorraine being made one of the directors helping to run the office. Dear wanted to expand the business as Ireland’s construction boom started to show itself.

 He knew with the right expansion they would make millions. Mark, their first child, was born in 2001 and followed by their daughter Julie in 2003. Lorraine was delighted as was Dearmmouth. You could say that both were hands-on parents, nurturing and loving. When Mark started school, Dear would walk him to school every morning, and when they were old enough, he would bring both Mark and Julie swimming every Friday afternoon.

 Dear would be described as reserved in comparison to Lorraine’s outgoing nature. The Floods were not afraid to spend money either. They lived in a period house on the main street in Clonroach. They both drove Mercedes cars, went out for dinner frequently, and took holidays abroad. On the morning of Friday the 25th of April 2008, Dearmmouth and Lorraine Rose had breakfast and got the children ready for school with Dearmmouth sticking to his usual routine of walking them to school and then heading to work.

 The secretary would say later that he seemed in good spirits, going between the office and the workshop, making sure everything was set for the day and his employees knew what had to be done. Lorraine arrived at the office just after midday, staying in the office until nearly 2:00 p.m. Again, it would be said she was in good spirits.

 Later that day, Dermit left to collect the children and bring them swimming at the Ferry Carrick Hotel, where there were members of the leisure center. Again, it would be said by a woman who had been the last known person to see Dearmmouth and the children at the pool that he seemed fine, as did the children. Dearmmouth and the children left the leisure center shortly after 6:00 p.m. and headed home.

 The last time Lorraine was seen was crossing the road to go to the shop at around 5:00 p.m. Later that evening, a man left the local petrol station. And as he drove past the flood house at around 7:30 p.m., he noticed Dear closing the gates of the yard next to the house. This would be the last time anyone would see any member of the flood family alive.

 What would transpire behind the walls of this family home in the next 10 hours would never be fully established. And the biggest question would be, why did this have to happen? The next morning, at around 5:30 a.m., a neighbor awoke to the sounds of what he described as bangers going off. He got up from his bed and peered out the bedroom window and saw flames coming from the flood family home.

 He called the emergency services immediately, got dressed, and ran outside towards the house on fire, hoping that he could be of some help. By now, other neighbors had gathered. An iron bar was acquired and it was used to force open a downstairs window. A ladder was also used to gain access to the upstairs window.

 When the same neighbor climbed the ladder, he saw Lorraine lying on the bed in the master with her head turned towards the window. Seeing her, he smashed the window and climbed inside. He called Lorraine as he shook her, telling her the house was on fire and she needed to move. By now, the room was filling with suffocating clouds of smoke, and the fire was taking hold, but Lorraine didn’t move.

 Looking at her more closely, the man noticed blood on Lorraine’s chest, and at the same time realizing she was beyond help, he grabbed a nearby blanket and placed it gently over her body, focusing now on finding the children. He made his way to the landing, but by now the flames of the fire had made its way up the stairs, and between the heat, smoke, and flames, he knew he had to get out.

 Hearing those that were outside shouting to get out, he made his way back to the window he had come in, climbed down the ladder, knowing that no one was going to be saved, and that the flood family had perished. The fire service arrived moments later, and made their way into the house. The fire by now had totally taken hold and all they could do was get it under control and put it out.

 They knew no one was going to be saved and this was now going to be a recovery of bodies rather than saving lives. Once the flames had been extinguished and the house had cooled down enough, the fire service entered through the front door and made their way up the stairs, bracing themselves as to what they were about to find.

 On the landing, they found little Mark first. In the master bedroom, Lorraine was found on the bed with the blanket over her. In the second bedroom, the body of little Julie was found in her bed, still holding her teddy bear. Lorraine’s body was untouched by the flames. Little Julie’s body was blackened from the smoke, but poor little Mark’s body was unfortunately exposed to the fire.

downstairs. Other firefighters made their way through the rooms and in the living room they would find the body of Dearmmouth slumped in an armchair burnt beyond recognition. As the first responders secured the scene, Guardi arrived and immediately an investigation began into the circumstances of the fire and how a whole family could perish.

 Officers collected the names of the people who had witnessed the fire in order to get statements from them further down the line. On examining the remains of the house, a shotgun was found near the body of Dearmmouth. This prompted the onseen guardy to call for the guarded technical bureau and the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation along with the deputy state pathologist who had already been called to attend the scene.

 Soon it was determined that this was not an accidental fire. The speed in which the fire spread and the noticeable smell of accelerant told the investigators that this fire was started intentionally. When Lorraine’s body was examined on site, the blood was noted when they took off the blanket that was covering her.

It was determined that she had suffered a massive gunshot wound to the chest before the fire was even started and was likely killed instantly. When Dear was examined at the scene, it was determined that he had suffered a gunshot wound to the face at close range with the gun found close to his body. It was thought that the children had either been drugged or smothered or died from smoke inhalation.

Throughout the day, friends, neighbors, and school friends of Mark and Julie gathered and laid flowers outside the house, griefstricken and not knowing how this could happen to such a lovely family. Our priest, Father Redmond, was called to minister the last rights, but he was not allowed into the house as it was deemed too dangerous, and so he blessed the house instead.

 Father Redmond is the same priest who visited the Dunn family in Monagar in County Wexford a year and a week before this tragedy. They too were all killed by the husband in a murder suicide. All I can say is my heart goes out to Father Redmond. Two of the same type of tragedies in a year. And with Adrien Dunn’s family being from Clon Roach as well, their story can be found on my playlist on my channel.

 Those that weren’t gathered at the house pulled together to support the Flood family and the Koho family, offering them loving support through actions by providing food and beverages and sympathy. Of course, we all know that when a tragedy like this happens, the media sends, and this tragedy was no different.

 They gathered in the small village looking for information on the family and questioning the friends and neighbors. Even though the close community closed ranks and would not speak to them, they still managed to get their headlines for the next morning’s Sunday papers. It read that it was Dearmmouth who had taken the lives of his family as well as his own.

 A memorial mass was held that same morning so the community could come together to grieve and try to make sense of what just happened. With rumors running rampant, the Guarder press office felt compelled to issue a statement regarding the tragedy. All four bodies have injuries consistent with the fire. There are no other injuries to say otherwise.

Lorraine and Dear sustained injuries yet to be fully determined. It was decided that the families will be spared of the process of identifying the bodies as it was deemed too distressing for them. Dear and Lorraine were formally identified using dental records and the children were identified by using DNA. On Monday morning at the local primary school, a prayer service was held for Mark and Julie after the teachers explained that their little classmates would never be returning to school.

 The principal of the school made a statement to the waiting media, expressing sympathy as a whole to both families and describing how wonderful Mark and Julie were and how they would be greatly missed by them and their classmates. The Flood and Ko family also released a joint statement to the media. Our two families who have long shared deep ties now face the painful journey of rebuilding our lives after this tragedy.

A mass was held at Lorine’s family home attended by the flood family along with friends and neighbors to support and console one another. They thanked everyone that had helped them through this difficult time and stated that Dear Lorraine, Mark, and Julie would all be buried together at Clockbone Cemetery after a funeral mass held at St.

Clemen’s Church. A second press conference had to be held by Guardi in order to quash more rumors. While it was said that Mark was found on the landing, this was not the case. A stud partition wall between the landing and Mark’s bedroom had burned down, and so in fact, he was in his bedroom. It just didn’t look like he was initially.

They also confirmed that they were looking into the possibility that the children had been drugged before the fire started as there were no visible injuries on their bodies, but they were still waiting on toxicology reports. At the inquest, it would be determined that the two children were smothered in their sleep and there was no smoke found in their lungs.

 He also said that used and unused gun cartridges were recovered and that an accelerant may have fueled the fire. It was also determined that the gun was registered in a close relative’s name and so the guard thought that a third party was involved. But upon investigation, they found that yes, it was registered to someone else, but that Dear had been in possession of this gun for years.

 Rumors also swirled that Dear had made a phone call at 5:00 a.m. on the morning of the tragedy. But examining his phone, no call was made to anyone at that time, stated. Looking into Dear’s mental health history, it would emerge at the inquest that he was scheduled to have a psychiatric evaluation on the 28th of April, 2 days after the tragedy.

 At the inquest, it was said that Dearmmouth was very self-conscious about his health and would not wait in the health center if there were other people present. On the Monday before the tragedy, he arrived at the health center, but left immediately and didn’t return until 10:30 a.m. when the coast was clear. The nurse took bloods and labeled them urgent so Dearmmouth could take them straight to St. John’s Hospital for analysis.

 On the Friday, 24 hours before his body was discovered, he again attended the clinic, wanting to know the results of his blood tests. The nurse told him the results weren’t back, and so he left, ringing the clinic later at 11:00 a.m. And at 11:15 a.m., the nurse phoned Dearma back, telling him his results were clear, his cholesterol was normal.

But this was not good enough for Dearmmouth. He arrived at the clinic to see the results for himself. The nurse said he was in the prime of his health and there was nothing to worry about. But Dearmmed was not so sure as his mother had cancer and he was afraid he would get cancer also that it could be passed on.

 Dear’s GP also spoke at the inquest. He said that Dear had been his patient for a number of years and came to see him on the 17th of April shortly before the fire. He said that he was feeling depressed but that his main complaints were physical. He stated that he had a groin ache but examination by the doctor disclosed nothing abnormal.

Dear told the doctor that it was a quiet time of year business-wise and he was not sleeping. When he did sleep, he was liable to wake up with palpitations. He said he never considered harming himself or anyone else. But the GP did feel that it was best to act more on the cautionary side. And so he made an appointment for Dermat to attend St.

Sinian’s Hospital Psychiatric unit in Enscorte on Monday the 28th of April for low mood and anxiety. But before the appointment could be fulfilled, Dear was back at the clinic on the 21st of April, complaining of groin pain again with added back pain. He wanted to have a colonoscopy, but the doctor told him that he preferred to await the outcome of the consultation at the hospital.

It would also be said that there were no clear financial problems between the couple. Neither Dear or Lorraine made wills and so their estate was left to the respected families. After their debts, the probate office in Dublin released documents that showed that Dear left an estate worth €590,526, while Lraine left an estate worth €519,433, less inheritance tax on both, of course.

As the time of the funeral came nearer and more information came out that Deer had indeed killed his whole family and then himself, people’s grief turned to anger. How could this man do this to his family? Of course, this started the rumor mill up again. And some would say allegedly that Dearmed was not all that he seemed.

 It was said allegedly that he was controlling. He never let Lorraine do anything or go anywhere on her own. That he was terrified of losing her, that he was an obsessive husband. She was everything to him, almost like a possession, said one local. If they were out together, he would never take his eyes off her, which I’m sure became tiresome for Lorraine if this is true.

On the 1st of May 2008, the Flood family were brought to St. Clementine’s Church for the funeral mass. There was quietness except for the sound of grief as the two adult coffins were carried into the church along with the two little white coffins. Thousands of people attended the funeral from far and wide.

 Photographs adorned each coffin on the altar. Julie’s was a picture of her laughing and playing with her dog. Mark’s picture showed his mischievous light, full of fun. Lorraine’s picture showed her as the beautiful woman and mother that she was holding her babies in her arms. On Dear’s coffin was a picture of him and Lorraine on their wedding day.

 At the coroner’s inquest in June 2009, just over a year after the flood family deaths, the coroner moved to quash any rumors that the flood family was in an apparent difficulty before the awful events the year before. He said all the evidence pointed to a family that was very close. Dar loved his wife Lorraine and children Mark and Julie.

 He said there was no relationship problems within the family and they were financially secure. However, it did appear that Dear was suffering from a depressive illness, though he covered it well and kept it to himself. He worked in the family business as normal up to the day of the 25th into the 26th of April, 2008.

 It was clear nonetheless that his mind was very disturbed, and he had serious exaggerated concerns about his own physical and mental health. Such worries could have tipped the bands of his mind, and to the person carrying out such deeds, they can often seem an act of love rather than destruction, he said.

 Traces of a mild anti-depressant was found in Lorraine’s system, but she had been on this medication since August 2007 after complaining of low energy and fatigue, but there was no suggestion that she was depressed. In fact, she responded very well to the medication. It was determined that Lorraine died from a single shotgun to the chest and this was her cause of death.

 Mark and Julie, as I said before, were smothered and no smoke was found in their lungs. All three deaths were officially recorded as unlawful killings at the hands of Dearmmouth. Dear’s death was recorded as a self-inflicted fatal wound to the face, so therefore a suicide. To conclude this case, I guess we will never really know what leads a person to do something like this.

 Whether it be a man or a woman, the questions lie unanswered. While we will always have an opinion on this tragedy, just remember that two families lost loved ones and they will never be the same again. They are no winners here, only losers. And the village of Clon Roach still reel from this tragedy. If a case that was to ever stand out, it is this one.

 A picture perfect life with a dark cloud over it that only Dermitt could see. Why did he feel he had to take his family with him? I just don’t know. Why couldn’t he just take himself out again? I just don’t know. My heart goes out to both families. Rest in peace.