THE MAN WHO killed his two daughters and then drove his car into a ditch in Co Cork will not be buried with his girls. John Butler’s body will be privately cremated tomorrow after a funeral Mass at 10am in St Colman’s Cathedral in his native Cobh, according to his death notice.

His daughters Zoe and Ella will be laid to rest today after Mass of the Angels at 2.30pm at Star of the Sea Church, Ballycotton. They will be buried afterwards in St Colman’s Cemetery, Cloyne.

However, the remains of father and daughters will all repose at their home in Ballybraher, Ballcotton today. The house will be kept private and the family have appealed that they be left alone to mourn. The girls’ grieving mother Una Butler, her family and in-laws released this statement, as carried in today’s Irish Independent:

It is with great sadness that Una Butler and the family of the late John Butler have brought home the bodies of John, Zoe and Ella to the family home at Ballycotton, Co Cork. John, Zoe and Ella will repose together at the family home. The family have requested that the family home would remain private.

Una and John’s family are struggling to come to terms with the enormous and tragic loss of Zoe, Ella and John. They would ask for prayers for them and for all those who are grieving. They wish to express their gratitude to all those who have offered such comfort and support to them.

Una and John’s family would request that both the media and public would respect their privacy at this difficult time.

John Butler is believed to have killed his girls shortly after his wife left for work in Cork city on Tuesday morning. They died of asphyxiation, a postmortem found. At around 9.30am, John Butler bought a five-gallon can of petrol at nearby Shanagarry and shortly afterwards crashed his car into a ditch near his home, where it burst into flames. He died of burns and smoke inhalation.