This article is from page 10 of the 2006-03-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
GARDAÍ investigating the death of four-year-old Karl Fox will decide whether they should interview the toddler’s little schoolfriends in the coming days.
The initial results of the post mortem examination carried out on the body of Karl showed he died due to asphyxiation. Chief Superintendent Liam Quinn, who is leading the investigation, stressed that gardaí did not, at any stage, treat the death as anything other than a shocking tragedy.
“We are investigating all aspects of the incident very thoroughly. It is based on the fact that a young person died in unusual circumstances and is not based on anything suspicious. We have to establish the full facts,” said Chief Supt Quinn.
“We will be interviewing all of the principals involved in the lead-up to the incident, the incident itself and in the aftermath,” he added.
Karl’s family have been interviewed and gardaí have outlined the details of the investigation to them. Mr Quinn said that gardaí would evaluate whether Karl’s 13 classmates and other schoolfriends could offer anything to the investigation.
“We will be led by the teachers in that regard,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Department of Education and Science has confirmed to The Clare People that it will not be carrying out any investigation into the tragic death. A spokesperson said the Garda would investigate the incident, while the department would provide support to the staff and children through the NEPS (National Educational Psychological Service) Programme.
Psychologists were sent to the school following the freak accident.