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04/05/2011
Howell Inquest To 'Set Record Straight'
The first phase of a new inquest into the deaths of Lesley Howell and Trevor Buchanan is now underway.
It aims to set the record straight after their respective partners were jailed for their murders, with a coroner's court hearing in Belfast told today that a second hearing will take place before the end of next month.
However, that's still two decades after their bodies were found in an apparent suicide pact when the pair were found gassed in a car on the north coast in May 1991 and the original inquest ruled they had taken their own lives.
Dentist Colin Howell (pictured) and Sunday school teacher Hazel Stewart have recently been convicted of their murders.
Gordon Buchanan, brother of one of the victims, told the Belfast inquest preliminary: "What the Buchanan family wish is that the record is set straight and that any record is accurate and reflects the truth of what happened."
The court heard that Howell, 52, and Stewart, 48, concocted a story at the inquest which covered up the truth that they murdered their spouses.
The trials showed that dentist Howell used a hosepipe attached to a car exhaust to gas the pair separately while they slept at their respective homes in Coleraine, Co Londonderry.
He then drove them to a garage in Castlerock where they were later found. Stewart did nothing to stop him as he arrived to kill her husband.
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".
The initial 'suicides' investigation was reopened when Colin Howell confessed to the murders in January 2009 which led to the former dentist serving 21 years after he pleaded guilty to the killings.
His ex-lover, Hazel Stewart was convicted of the double murder of her policeman husband and her former lover's wife in March.
See: NI 'Suicide' Killer Gets 18 Years
(BMcC/GK)
It aims to set the record straight after their respective partners were jailed for their murders, with a coroner's court hearing in Belfast told today that a second hearing will take place before the end of next month.
However, that's still two decades after their bodies were found in an apparent suicide pact when the pair were found gassed in a car on the north coast in May 1991 and the original inquest ruled they had taken their own lives.
Dentist Colin Howell (pictured) and Sunday school teacher Hazel Stewart have recently been convicted of their murders.
Gordon Buchanan, brother of one of the victims, told the Belfast inquest preliminary: "What the Buchanan family wish is that the record is set straight and that any record is accurate and reflects the truth of what happened."
The court heard that Howell, 52, and Stewart, 48, concocted a story at the inquest which covered up the truth that they murdered their spouses.
The trials showed that dentist Howell used a hosepipe attached to a car exhaust to gas the pair separately while they slept at their respective homes in Coleraine, Co Londonderry.
He then drove them to a garage in Castlerock where they were later found. Stewart did nothing to stop him as he arrived to kill her husband.
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".
The initial 'suicides' investigation was reopened when Colin Howell confessed to the murders in January 2009 which led to the former dentist serving 21 years after he pleaded guilty to the killings.
His ex-lover, Hazel Stewart was convicted of the double murder of her policeman husband and her former lover's wife in March.
See: NI 'Suicide' Killer Gets 18 Years
(BMcC/GK)
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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.
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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.
08 February 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.
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.
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15 February 2011
Bizarre Double Murder Trial Continues
Defence counsel for a Co Londonderry woman accused of freely taking part in the plot to kill her own husband and her then lover's wife, have claimed that dentist Colin Howell was forcing the accused, Hazel Stewart against her will to be complicit in the deadly plot.
Bizarre Double Murder Trial Continues
Defence counsel for a Co Londonderry woman accused of freely taking part in the plot to kill her own husband and her then lover's wife, have claimed that dentist Colin Howell was forcing the accused, Hazel Stewart against her will to be complicit in the deadly plot.
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:A cloudy morning with a few showers at times. Becoming dry in the afternoon and staying mainly cloudy, but some sunshine breaking through particularly in the east. Maximum temperature 16 °C.Tonight:Quite cloudy across all counties at first but clear spells most likely towards Down and Antrim, becoming widespread through the evening and overnight. Minimum temperature 5 °C.
