Hundreds attend prayer service in Fermanagh for mother and children killed in tragic shooting

Sunday World

2 days ago

HEARTBREAKING |
Mourners were told Vanessa's mother, Mary and her siblings were watching the service from home
Vanessa Whyte (45), a vet originally from Co Clare, her son James (14), and daughter Sara (13), were killed in a suspected triple murder and attempted suicide at a house in Maguiresbridge on Wednesday morning.
Ms Whyte was originally from Barefield, a village near Ennis in Co Clare.
Hundreds of people attended the prayer service, which took place in Barefield this evening.
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.
"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."
Hundreds attended the prayer service at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Barefield (Brian Lawless/PA Wire)
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".
"Vanessa was a mother. She was a daughter, a sister, an aunty and a great friend to so many people," Fr Fitzpatrick added. "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.
"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.
Hundreds attended the prayer service at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Barefield (Brian Lawless/PA Wire)
"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.
"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."
He said the family's hearts have been "fractured beyond belief".
Hundreds attended the prayer service at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Barefield (Pic: Brian Lawless/PA Wire)
"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."
A murder investigation has been launched, while an adult male remains in a serious condition in hospital.
It is understood that the funeral of Ms Whyte and her two children will take place in Barefield later this week.
On Saturday, detectives from the major investigation team, who are carrying out the murder investigation, 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.
"Anyone who was travelling in the area and who may have captured dashcam footage which could assist, please get in touch."
The man who remains in a serious condition in hospital was a member of the same household, the PSNI said.
Vanessa Whyte with her children Sara and James, who died following a shooting in Co Fermanagh (PSNI/PA)
Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 27th