Police are investigating a murder-suicide after a father and his young daughter were found dead (Image: Sam Boal / Collins Photos)
A father is suspected of having strangled his six-year-old daughter before taking his own life in a horrifying murder-suicide incident.
The shocking discovery was made by the child’s mother at their home on Heathfield Terrace, Cappoge, Ireland, on Saturday night. The father, a bus driver in his 30s, was found near the stairs while his daughter was discovered in her bedroom.
Neighbours reported hearing the mother’s chilling scream and her call to Dublin Fire Brigade, ambulance crews and Irish police (Gardaí) who arrived at the scene around 8pm.
It is feared that the father and daughter lay dead for several hours before the mother returned home and made the grim discovery.
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Gardaí believe the tragic young girl was strangled and that the father subsequently ended his own life, reports BelfastLive. They do not suspect any break-in or third party involvement.
The bodies were removed from the home around midday on Sunday for a post-mortem examination, which will guide the course of the investigation.
The tragedy unfolded in a quiet estate, directly opposite a children’s playground where locals often saw the young girl and her father. One local revealed how a neighbour heard the mother’s anguished cry.
“She came out to a horrible scream. It was the mother. She’d just come home from work and found them,” they said.
Police forensics specialists were seen entering the home on Sunday (Image: Sam Boal / Collins Photos)
Other residents spoke of the heartbreak of having to explain to their children – many of whom played with the little girl in the playground – what had occurred.
“It’s very hard. Like we don’t know what to be telling our children. It’s just horrific,” one local woman said.
“Word filtered through but I kind of don’t think the gravity of it hit until the searches and all were going on this morning,” they added.
“It’s just the kids now that we are trying to protect from it. My two girls are the same age as that little one. So it’s shocking. They would know her to see her in the playground. We’d always say hello to the family. My girls thought there was a movie being recorded this morning because of the cameras so I just said yeah that’s right.”
The Garda Technical Bureau removed the bodies from the scene on Sunday (Image: Sam Boal / Collins Photos)
Another neighbour added: “It’s very sad. You don’t know what you’re going to do. We’ve a lot of kids as you can see there in the playground. It’s really sad. Such a quiet neighbourhood up here. You don’t hear a dickie bird up here.
“They’re such a quiet family. People have their thoughts on it. I have my own but no matter what it’s a tragedy. They’re a lovely very quiet family and kept to themselves. Just one child between the two of them.”
A local woman recounted the chilling moment she saw a fire brigade truck speeding into the estate, instantly realising something was amiss. “I was up in my room and I saw the fire truck came in. I knew by the way they ran out that it was something serious.
“There were four ambulances, two fire vans, the engine and then the guards. I knew once the ambulances were leaving I thought oh this is not good, they’re not bringing anyone out. But I still wouldn’t have imagined anything like that.”
Neighbours said the young girl killed at her home was the couple’s only child (Image: Niall Carson/PA Wire)
Residents painted a picture of a close-knit family, with the father often seen teaching his daughter to ride her bike on the street, and the grandmother having just left the home days before the tragedy after spending the summer with them.
“He (the father) spent all summer teaching her to go on her bike without stabilisers.
“You’d see him in the middle of the road holding traffic and you’re like: ‘Get off the road.’ The grandmother was there all summer. She has been all summer. You would always see her going up and down the road with the little girl,” a neighbour said.
Gardaí have set up an incident room and are awaiting the results of a post mortem before deciding the next steps in their investigation. However, officers are preparing for a potential murder investigation in this heartbreaking case.
Irish police are investigating ‘all circumstances’ in relation to the two deaths (Image: Sam Boal / Collins Photos)
On Saturday night, Gardaí announced they are “investigating all the circumstances surrounding” the discovery of the two bodies.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Gardaí said: “Gardaí are investigating all the circumstances surrounding the discovery of two bodies at a domestic residence in Finglas, Dublin, on Saturday, 27 September, 2025.
“Gardaí and emergency services were called to the residence in the Cappagh area shortly before 8pm. The location has been preserved for forensic examination by the Garda Technical Bureau.
“The Coroner has been notified and the services of the Office of the State Pathologist have been requested. No further information is available at this time.”
