Last night the people of Omagh were coming to terms with the shocking confirmation that the fire that claimed the lives of the entire McElhill family was caused by arson, and that the PSNI had begun a murder investigation.
Shortly before 5pm fire officers finally discovered the bodies of two of the McElhill children that lay hidden under the debris of the charred shell of the house at Lammy Crescent in Omagh.
All seven bodies - of Arthur McElhill and his partner, Lorraine McGovern, and their children, Caroline, Seán, Bellina, Clodagh and James - have now been located.
It is hoped that the bodies will be removed tomorrow, or at the latest on Friday, for postmortem examination. Soon after, it is also hoped, the bodies will be released so that the extended McElhill and McGovern families can make burial arrangements.
PSNI Det Chief Supt Norman Baxter said that police were now engaged in a murder investigation, having earlier described it as a potential crime.
He said a "significant quantity" of an accelerant, which he confirmed was petrol, was poured and ignited at the scene. This explained how the fire spread so rapidly before 5am on Tuesday and how the family had little chance of escape.
Det Chief Supt Baxter told reporters: "It is too early at this stage to rule anything in or anything out, and that is why we need the help and co-operation, particularly of the people of Lammy and the surrounding housing area here.
"If they have seen anything, anyone acting suspiciously, or any activity around this home prior to the fire, to please come forward and help us build together a picture of what happened."
He did not say so but it was clear that a considerable focus of the investigation is whether the fire was started within the house. Critically, this will determine whether there is a killer or killers at large or whether the fire was started by a family member.
One police source said detectives must be careful in their inquiry and at this stage the line "Police are not looking for anyone else in relation to the inquiry" could not be used.
A forensic specialist from England has been called in to assist with the investigation.
Further details also emerged yesterday of how some local men frantically and courageously tried to rescue the family. Brothers Mark and John McGlynn rushed with ladders to the scene. They discovered Arthur McElhill at an upstairs window but he was "too far through" from smoke inhalation to make an effort to be saved. Mark McGlynn told the BBC that Mr McElhill just stared shocked and helpless out of the window for a "long three, four seconds" and was then overcome.
Stephen Mullen, a neighbour who also tried to assist, recounted how he could hear heart-rending screaming.
"The screaming is something I will never forget. It was as if the whole place was amplified. You could hear every noise. It was like being in a cinema theatre with surround sound," he said.
Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness spent a number of hours at the scene yesterday where he spoke to local people and met firefighters, some of whom had not slept since the fire started.
Speaking before the announcement that it was a murder inquiry, he said: "This is a very painful situation, but as it has now been declared a potential crime scene I think people understand that this has to be thoroughly investigated.
"It is very distressing but it is also very necessary that the police establish exactly how this could have occurred."
