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| Fire suspect 'set Bebo sex traps' | Fire suspect 'set Bebo sex traps' |
| (about 10 hours later) | |
| A man suspected of killing himself and his family in a house fire in Omagh was having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl, an inquest has heard. | A man suspected of killing himself and his family in a house fire in Omagh was having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl, an inquest has heard. |
| Arthur McElhill, Lorraine McGovern and their five children died in the blaze at Lammy Crescent in November 2007. | Arthur McElhill, Lorraine McGovern and their five children died in the blaze at Lammy Crescent in November 2007. |
| The inquest, which re-opened on Monday, heard how Arthur McElhill used a Bebo account in his seven-year-old son's name to contact teenage girls. | |
| In the days before the fire he sent over 100 text messages to two girls. | In the days before the fire he sent over 100 text messages to two girls. |
| He was also revealed to have been having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl in the period before his death. The age of consent in Northern Ireland at that time was 17. It has since been changed to 16 years old. | He was also revealed to have been having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl in the period before his death. The age of consent in Northern Ireland at that time was 17. It has since been changed to 16 years old. |
| Mr McElhill, a registered sex offender with previous convictions for assaulting teenage girls, is suspected of deliberately starting the fire killing his partner and their five children. | Mr McElhill, a registered sex offender with previous convictions for assaulting teenage girls, is suspected of deliberately starting the fire killing his partner and their five children. |
| They were 13-year-old Caroline, seven-year-old Sean, Bellina, 4, Clodagh, 19 months and James, nine months. | They were 13-year-old Caroline, seven-year-old Sean, Bellina, 4, Clodagh, 19 months and James, nine months. |
| A police chief inspector told the inquest on Monday that he did not believe anyone in the house other than Arthur McElhill was capable of starting the fire. | A police chief inspector told the inquest on Monday that he did not believe anyone in the house other than Arthur McElhill was capable of starting the fire. |
| Suicide attempt | |
| Forensic investigators have already told the inquest that the fire started when someone who was inside the house set light to a mixture of petrol and white spirits which had been poured in the hall. | Forensic investigators have already told the inquest that the fire started when someone who was inside the house set light to a mixture of petrol and white spirits which had been poured in the hall. |
| It was also revealed in earlier hearings that Mr McElhill had made a suicide attempt in 1988. | It was also revealed in earlier hearings that Mr McElhill had made a suicide attempt in 1988. |
| His GP told the hearing she prescribed antidepressants for Mr McElhill, but he did not always take them. | His GP told the hearing she prescribed antidepressants for Mr McElhill, but he did not always take them. |
| The inquest reopened on Monday after a two-month adjournment. | |
| Neighbour Lee Anne Duffy told the inquest she was woken up some time after 0400 GMT by a man shouting, "you can't run". | |
| Moments later she looked out of the window and spotted a man she was "98% sure" was McElhill getting something from his car. | |
| Within less than five minutes the blaze erupted, she said. | |
| Another neighbour who said he was woken by screams, told the coroner: "I knew this wasn't a fight, it was fear." | |
| Gary Taggart described seeing McElhill at an upstairs window but refusing to climb out and come down a ladder. | |
| "He could have got out through that window," he said. | |
| Coroner Suzanne Anderson is expected to deliver her verdict on Tuesday. |