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'BLOODBATH'
Screams before twins, 8, ‘hacked to death with machete & thrown out of window’ as sister, 18, killed trying to save them
SCREAMS of "help me" were heard moments before eight-year-old twins were hacked to death with a machete, it is claimed.
Chelsea and Christy Cawley were then thrown from the upstairs window of a house in Tallaght, Dublin, late on Saturday night.
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Their 18-year-old sister Lisa Cash was also killed in the "bloodbath" as she tried to defend her younger siblings, it is understood, while their brother, 14, managed to raise the alarm.
He was still being treated in hospital for his injuries last night.
Police were called to the property on the Rossfield Estate at around 12.30am.
Neighbours said they heard screaming coming from the house, and a woman shouting "help me, help me", the reports.
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A source also told The Sun: "It was a bloodbath and those poor children didn’t stand a chance.
"The scene was horrific and all three victims suffered violent deaths."
Detectives believe Lisa was killed first when she tried to stop the knifeman getting to the twins, while their brother was able to escape and call for help.
The 25-year-old suspect — who was arrested at the scene — was well known to the victims and likely turned up uninvited, police said.
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Unarmed Gardaí from Tallaght and Rathfarnham Garda Stations arrived at the scene within five minutes of being alerted.
They were met with yells from horrified locals claiming an armed man had barricaded himself in the home with several kids.
Armed detectives and members of the specialist Armed Support Unit arrived on the scene soon after, with ASU officers storming the house.
After entering the property, they discovered Lisa, who is believed to have been babysitting at the time, lying at the bottom of the stairs.
She was found under debris from the house that Gardaí believe was thrown on top of her during the attack.
As officers fought to save the girl, the suspected killer rushed upstairs and locked himself in the attic.
Cops then fired rubber bullets, which contain spray to incapacitate suspects, and stun grenades.
The suspect emerged and was hit with a taser as he threatened officers before being arrested and taken in for questioning.
'BLOODBATH'
It’s understood the children’s mother wasn’t in the property at the time of the attack but rushed home in a frantic bid to save her kids.
The twins - along with their older sister - were brought to Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin Hospital where they were pronounced dead.
The teen who raised the alarm was brought to Tallaght Hospital with serious injuries but they aren’t believed to be life-threatening.
The murder victims’ mother, who was not injured at the scene, was also brought to the hospital for treatment. She was later released.
Locals praised the quick response from police, with one adding: "It must have been very hard for them to have gone into the house and witness such carnage.
"There was a lot of confusion in the street and locals thought he was armed and holding other children in the property.
"The young lad who escaped is a hero. The whole thing is just a nightmare."
Gardaí said everyone involved is believed to be known to each other and officers are not looking for anyone else in connection with the "violent, challenging and traumatic" incident.
The scene remains sealed off and a forensic examinations continue to take place.
Police are also conducting house-to-house inquiries as they try to establish a motive for the shock killings.
State Pathologist Dr Sally Anne Collis began post-mortems on Sunday.
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Residents have been left reeling in wake of the slayings, describing how the estate has been consumed by an "eerie feeling".
The local community centre has now been set up as a place where stunned residents can get help in the aftermath.
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