A plea in the murders of three people in a horror blaze in Derrylin in 2018 was accepted by a court in Co Tyrone today. The court also accepted a lesser plea to the manslaughter of a fourth victim by way of a suicide pact.
32-year-old Daniel Sebastian Allen whose address was given as the scene of the incident - Molly Road, Derrylin, has been in custody since his arrest. He was charged with murdering Denise Gossett (45) her son Roman (16) and daughter Sabrina (19) whose baby daughter Morgana Quinn, also perished in the blaze.
All resided in the Co Fermanagh property when the incident occurred on th 27th of February 2018. Allen denied the charges as well as one count of arson endangering life, however accepted manslaughter of two adult victims, due to a suicide pact.
He continued to deny murdering Roman and baby Morgana, contending they were already deceased. Today, he appeared at Dungannon Crown Court sitting in Craigavon where his barrister asked him to be re-arraigned in front of the jury.
In respect of each he admitted murdering Sabrina, Roman and baby Morgana, however maintained his position around Denise accepting manslaughter by way of suicide pact. He further admitted arson endangering life.
Pre-sentence reports and other relevant assessments are to be prepared and Allen will learn the minimum tariff he will serve on the15th of September. There were significant delays in having the case set for trial including in-depth psychological assessments around Allen's mental health.
Last year a defence barrister confirmed a consultant psychiatrist conducted an examination of Allen which did not support diminished responsibility and there was no longer evidence to support that.
