Derrylin: Judge considers if Daniel Allen will ever be released

A judge is considering if a man who killed three generations of the same family in County Fermanagh six years ago will ever be released from prison.

Denise Gossett, 45, her son Roman, 16, his sister Sabrina, 19, and Sabrina's 15-month-old daughter Morgana Quinn died at a burnt out cottage in 2018.

Daniel Sebastian Allen, 33, pleaded guilty to murdering the three youngest victims and to the manslaughter of Denise by reason of a suicide pact.

He had been living with the family.

Distressing details of the circumstances of the deaths, at a rented property on Doon Road, Derrylin, were revealed during a hearing to determine the minimum term of his life sentence on Thursday.

Denise Gossett has three other children and the eldest, Samantha Gossett, followed court proceedings via video link.

In a victim impact statement provided to the court she described the murders as "having shattered her world" and she will never stop grieving.

The court heard that Roman Gossett and Morgana Quinn died from GHB poisoning, a drug which has a sedative and anaesthetic effect.

Daniel Allen claimed he strangled Sabrina but there was no evidence to prove this and her cause of death could not be ascertained.

Denise Gossett was still alive when the fire started and died from smoke inhalation.

Her body was found handcuffed to a bed.

A prosecution lawyer said the manslaughter plea was accepted on the basis that it was "more likely than not" there was a suicide pact.

However, they said Daniel Allen had given multiple conflicting accounts of what happened and blood from two of his victims, Sabrina and Denise, was found on his clothing.

He was standing outside the cottage when neighbours and the emergency services arrived at the scene of the fire.

The court heard that he refused to move from the front of the building even as burning roof tiles fell on him.

He was shouting and roaring "don't go in there" and repeated: "I'm sorry, they're all gone."

He told police officers "I started the fire" and said he was a paranoid schizophrenic.

However, the court was told that he has never been diagnosed with the condition.

Psychiatric reports did not support a defence of diminished responsibility and stated at most he suffered a personality disorder.

After Daniel Allen was taken to hospital he told a police officer: "If someone makes you a promise you should keep it, don't you think?

"This is going to make me look really bad."

He later told a psychiatrist that he intended to burn the house down and he expected to die in the fire.

"I knew they were gone completely because I killed them. They made me promise," he said.

Daniel Allen did not suffer any significant injuries in the fire.

A toxicology report was inconclusive whether he had taken any GHB.

Daniel Allen was originally from the Midlands area of England and had met Denise online.

He initially lived with her and her family in Scotland. The court heard they lived an itinerant existence and used aliases.

They moved to Ireland, first to Tralee and then to Cavan, before renting the property in Derrylin where they had lived for 14 months before the fire.

Denise Gossett said she was trying to flee her ex-husband but the court heard it was more likely that they were avoiding social services as they did not want Morgana taken into care.

In the weeks before the murders, Daniel Allen met a woman in the United States in the online game World of Warcraft.

He told her his relationship with Denise had broken down and talked to her about moving to America.

A prosecution lawyer listed a large number of aggravating features in the case which he said put the offences in the category of a whole life term.

A defence lawyer said in mitigation that Daniel Allen had pleaded guilty and his personal background should be taken into account.

He described Daniel Allen as "utterly dysfunctional, probably delusional, living in a fantasy world".

The judge said he would look at police body worn video of Daniel Allen filmed by officers in the immediate aftermath of the fire.

He will set the life sentence tariff on 21 February.