'Evil' dad stabbed his entire family to stop his secret from being exposed
WARNING, DISTRESSING CONTENT: Nine years after the brutal murder-suicide, the sister of victim Clodagh Hawe has spoken out about the reasons behind it.
The sister of a woman who was brutally murdered by her husband, who later killed their three children before taking his own life, has shared harrowing insight into his motivation to kill his own family.
"Respected" school vice principal Alan Hawe, 40, cut the throats of his three sons - Liam, 13, Niall, 11, and Ryan, six - as they slept in August 2016. He had just killed his wife Clodagh with a hatchet, knife and his bare hands downstairs at their home in County Cavan, Ireland.
Nearly nine years later, Clodagh's sister Jacqueline Connolly has published a memoir this month titled Deadly Silence, and has revealed that Hawe had an addiction to porn. She believes his secret being exposed was one of the main reasons behind his horrific crime, the Mirror reports.
Speaking to RTE Radio One, she said: 'I suppose it would be social death if anybody found out that he had that addiction.
'I couldn't believe it when I was told. You know, to me, Alan was boring. He was socially inept. Holier than thou. He was very much involved in the church and the community, the GAA (Irish football) club.
'And the go-to man if anybody wanted anything done, the vice principal of the school. He was very much respected. And so if this was to come out, it was going to bring on a lot of shame.'
When asked if this influenced his actions, she added: "Absolutely. The Serious Crime Review Team have revealed the evidence behind all of that. You've placed yourself as a brilliant father, husband and colleague. The shame of what he was looking at, to him, was the end of the world.'
Hawe was also described as a devout Catholic, and was the vice principal of the local Castlerahan National School, while Clodagh worked at Oristown National School in County Meath, and was remembered as a 'wonderful, dedicated and caring teacher for pupils'.
However, the apparent model citizen browsed Russian dating sites in secret, dressed in his wife's underwear without her knowledge and was addicted to watching porn, including indecent images of children.
His wife was said to be minding her business, drinking tea and looking at family holidays online when he suddenly attacked her from behind.
Describing her sister's final actions, Jacqueline said: 'He came in behind her and he hit her in the head with the axe and he stabbed her in the back and she put up her hand to defend herself and he basically nearly sawed her hand off.
'He killed her like he hated her. He didn't need to use two weapons, he killed her with such brutality it was evil. He then sat down and he wrote the letter because he had left the axe and knife on the floor. He took up a new knife and went upstairs.'
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After taking time to write his suicide note, Hawe took a second knife and went upstairs, where he cut the throats of his three sleeping sons before leaving them in their beds and returning downstairs to write another note.
He wrote: 'All the good stuff we did I was really into it. But I think there was some sort of psychosis that made me enjoy that yet in the next moment I was the complete opposite. I'm sorry for how I murdered them all but I simply had no other way.'
Sharing the harrowing details of her nephews' deaths, Jacqueline said: 'We know he put his knee on Liam's chest and cut through his windpipe to render him silent. Niall was sharing a room with Liam so Niall probably wouldn't have woken up because Liam couldn't scream out but he had defensive wounds on his hands.
'He did the same to Niall and then he went to Ryan's room. Ryan was the smallest of the three of them. He was very slight and thin for his age but during the inquest we were told that [Hawe] used a sawing action on Ryan and then he just threw a duvet cover over all of them and left the knife that he used on Ryan's pillow. That is evil. That is not depression. That is force brutality and it is control.'
A pathologist later revealed that Hawe may have stabbed the boys in their Adam's apples to stop them from screaming.
In his suicide note, he mentioned being "caught red handed" and how he "dreaded" returning to school because "it was all going to blow up". Jacqueline said of his words: 'I don't see it any way other than he enjoyed what he did.'
He had been seeing a counsellor for his addiction, with notes revealing he had "masturbated somewhere he shouldn't have - possibly school".
Following his death, lawyers for the school said there was no evidence he watched porn during school hours. However, his decision to murder his family was said to have been made out of fear his secret would become public.
Jacqueline also wrote in her memoir that she believes the Gardai did not investigate the four deaths thoroughly, and is calling on the authorities to publish the findings of a second investigation, led by the Serious Crime Review Team.
If you or someone you know is struggling, support is available. The Samaritans can be reached 24/7 by calling 116 123, emailing jo@samaritans.org, or visiting their website to find your nearest branch. You are not alone.
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