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08/02/2013
Hazel Stewart Was 'Knowing And Willing' Accomplice
The Appeal Court has ruled Hazel Stewart was a "knowing and willing" participant in the murder of her husband and her former lover’s wife, the BBC has reported.
Three senior judges have concluded she supported the double murder, carried out by former dentist Colin Howell, by providing him with assistance.
49-year-old Stewart was jailed for at least 18 years in 2011 for the murder of Trevor Buchanan and Lesley Howell.
Stewart and Howell had managed to fool detectives the deaths were part of a suicide pact carried out by their spouses after discovering they had been having an affair.
The victims were found in a fume-filled garage in Castlerock, County L’Derry, in May 1991.
It was subsequently discovered the two were murdered and their bodies arranged to make it look like they had taken their own lives.
It was almost twenty years before Stewart's former lover, 52-year-old Colin Howell, confessed to both killings.
He pleaded guilty to the murders in 2010 and is serving a minimum of 21 years in prison.
Earlier this year, the court refused Stewart's appeal for the murder of Lesley Howell.
Judges said today Stewart had backed Howell’s plan to murder their spouses and to allow their relationship to continue.
It was found she had allowed Howell into her home to kill her drugged husband, had disposed of a hose pipe used to gas their victims, had cleaned up the murder scene and provided false alibis to police.
(IT)
Three senior judges have concluded she supported the double murder, carried out by former dentist Colin Howell, by providing him with assistance.
49-year-old Stewart was jailed for at least 18 years in 2011 for the murder of Trevor Buchanan and Lesley Howell.
Stewart and Howell had managed to fool detectives the deaths were part of a suicide pact carried out by their spouses after discovering they had been having an affair.
The victims were found in a fume-filled garage in Castlerock, County L’Derry, in May 1991.
It was subsequently discovered the two were murdered and their bodies arranged to make it look like they had taken their own lives.
It was almost twenty years before Stewart's former lover, 52-year-old Colin Howell, confessed to both killings.
He pleaded guilty to the murders in 2010 and is serving a minimum of 21 years in prison.
Earlier this year, the court refused Stewart's appeal for the murder of Lesley Howell.
Judges said today Stewart had backed Howell’s plan to murder their spouses and to allow their relationship to continue.
It was found she had allowed Howell into her home to kill her drugged husband, had disposed of a hose pipe used to gas their victims, had cleaned up the murder scene and provided false alibis to police.
(IT)
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