07 June 2011

Inquest Verdict 'Carbon Monoxide Poisoning'

A second inquest has today found that two people murdered by disgraced dentist, Colin Howell and his lover Hazel Stewart were the victims of "homicidal carbon monoxide poisoning".

Trevor Buchanan, a 32-year-old policeman and Mrs Howell, 31, were found in a car in a fume-filled garage in the seaside town of Castlerock, Co Londonderry.

Howell and Stewart were jailed for their murder earlier this year, 20 years after the pair was found gassed in 1991 when it was believed Mrs Howell and Mr Buchanan had died in a lovers' suicide pact - but Colin Howell waited two decades before he confessed to the double murder and was jailed for 21 years.

His ex-lover, Hazel Stewart denied murdering her husband and Howell's wife, but was found guilty of the charges following a sensational trial earlier this year and sentenced to 18 years in custody.

Now, the Coroner at Belfast Coroner's Court, John Leckey has recorded a fresh verdict of death by carbon monoxide poisoning having expressed sympathy to the families of the victims and saying he was conscious of the "dreadful time" they have endured.

"Lesley Howell and Trevor Buchanan went to their graves subject to gross lies but eventually the truth came out and the truth is they were murdered," he said.

"I hope this verdict goes some way to bringing closure to the families."

Today's events are the latest development in a long-running story of illicit love affairs - with a church congregation as the backdrop - and murder plots - which also later revealed that the formerly successful dentist Howell had also been sexually abusing his female patients when under anaesthetic.

The whole case only case to be reviewed after Howell's Christian conversion made him come forward, and confess his well-planned crimes.

These involved him and his ex lover conspiring together and using a pipe to choke their respective spouses to death with car exhaust fumes and a complex plan to cover up the deaths and make them appear as suicides.

The new inquest came after Attorney General John Larkin ordered a fresh probe into the deaths, after the original inquest into the deaths of Trevor Buchanan and Lesley Howell ruled they had died from suicide in May 1991.

The hearing was instigated after Gordon Buchanan wrote to the coroner in April and following correspondence from the Attorney General stating that "there should be formal recognition that two persons were murdered and did not take their own lives".

UTV reported today that Gordon Buchanan, Trevor's brother, told a preliminary inquest hearing that his family wished for the record to be set straight and that any record is accurate and reflects the truth of what happened.

Howell's daughter Lauren Bradford said the Howell family echoed that view.

Belfast Coroner's Court heard on Tuesday that Howell had written a letter of remorse to the coroner.

See: Howell Inquest To 'Set Record Straight'