Latest news with #HazelStewart
Telegraph
23-05-2025
- Telegraph
Double murderer Sunday school teacher blames her PTSD, court hears
Double murderer Hazel Stewart may have been suffering from mental illness when she killed her policeman husband and the wife of her ex-lover, a court heard on Friday, Stewart is serving a minimum of 18 years behind bars for the killing of Constable Trevor Buchanan, 32, and Lesley Howell, 31, the wife of her ex-lover Colin Howell. Both were found in a fume-filled garage in Castlerock, Co Londonderry, in May 1991. Police originally believed they had died in a suicide pact after discovering that their partners were having an extramarital affair. Instead, they had been drugged and murdered and their bodies arranged to make it look as though they had taken their own lives. Nearly two decades passed before dentist Howell, 65, confessed to both killings and went on to implicate Stewart at her trial in 2011. She is making a fresh bid to have her sentence reduced by arguing that she was suffering from PTSD at the time of the murders. Representing Stewart, Brendan KC said: 'This application was created by the discovery of fresh evidence.' He said a series of reports from a psychiatrist in 2024 had said Stewart was 'suffering from two forms of mental health, depression and PTSD, at the time of the murders'. Mr Kelly said 'coupled with coercive behaviour' from Howell, these were factors that should have been taken into account during her sentencing. The barrister said the new evidence was 'cogent and admissible'. He said her mental illness had been caused after she had an abortion in 1990, adding that her condition 'simply wasn't identified or recognised' at the time of her trial. Pointing out that the diagnosis had been made only last year, Mr Kelly said 'it was difficult to see how we could have moved more quickly'. The barrister said the application to give leave for appeal should be granted, the new evidence submitted to the court and the psychiatrist called as a witness. The Court of Appeal in Belfast also heard submissions that Stewart, 62, a former Sunday school teacher, was being coercively controlled by Howell at the time of the killings in 1991. However, a barrister for the Public Prosecution Service said that more than 30 years after the murders, Stewart had 'finally found a doctor who will say something sympathetic'. Representing the Public Prosecution Service, Philip Henry KC said Stewart's barrister was trying to create an 'exceptional scenario'. He said the appeal judges were being invited to 'feel so uncomfortable' about the new medical evidence that a 'sense of injustice is provoked'. Mr Henry said the psychiatrist was first instructed in 2023 and was initially given some, but not all, of the relevant medical material. He added that after the new psychiatric report, the court was 'nowhere near' the point where it could allow an appeal over the sentence to proceed. Mr Kelly denied that Stewart's legal team had been 'shopping for a psychiatrist'. Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan said the court would rule on the application next month.
The Independent
23-05-2025
- The Independent
‘Fresh evidence' double murderer Hazel Stewart had mental illness, court told
'Fresh evidence' suggests that double murderer Hazel Stewart was suffering from mental illness when she killed her policeman husband and the wife of her ex-lover, Colin Howell, a court has heard. The Court of Appeal in Belfast also heard submissions that Stewart, 62, a former Sunday school teacher, was being coercively controlled by Howell at the time of the killings in 1991. Three appeal court judges are hearing an application that Stewart should be given leave to mount an appeal over the length of her sentence. However, a barrister for the Public Prosecution Service said that, more than 30 years after the murders, Stewart had 'finally found a doctor who will say something sympathetic'. Stewart is serving a minimum 18 years behind bars for the killing of Constable Trevor Buchanan, 32, and Howell's 31-year-old wife Lesley Howell. Both were found in a fume-filled garage in Castlerock, Co Londonderry, in May 1991. Police originally believed they had died in a suicide pact, after discovering that their partners were having an extra-marital affair. Instead, they had been drugged and murdered and their bodies arranged to make it look as though they had taken their own lives. Nearly two decades passed before dentist Howell, 65, confessed to both killings. He implicated Stewart and she was ordered to serve at least 18 years, at her trial in 2011. She is making a fresh bid to have her sentence reduced. Stewart, wearing a blue T-shirt and a necklace with a cross, watched proceedings via video link from Hydebank Prison. Lesley Howell's daughter, Dr Lauren Bradford-Clarke, was in the court, as was Stewart's second husband, David Stewart. The court heard lengthy submissions on whether it has jurisdiction to order a new appeal. It also has to adjudicate on a preliminary point about delay in raising the fresh ground of appeal. Representing Stewart, Brendan Kelly KC said: 'This application was created by the discovery of fresh evidence.' He said a series of reports from a psychiatrist in 2024 had said Stewart was 'suffering from two forms of mental health, depression and PTSD' at the time of the murders. He said 'coupled with coercive behaviour' from Howell, these were factors that should have been taken into account during her sentencing. The barrister said the new evidence was 'cogent and admissible'. He said her mental illness had been caused after she had an abortion in 1990, adding that her condition 'simply wasn't identified or recognised' at the time of her trial. Pointing out that the diagnosis had been made only last year, Mr Kelly said 'it was difficult to see how we could have moved more quickly'. The barrister said the application to give leave for appeal should be granted, the new evidence submitted to the court and the psychiatrist called as a witness. Representing the Public Prosecution Service, Philip Henry KC said Stewart's barrister was trying to create an 'exceptional scenario'. He said the appeal judges were being invited to 'feel so uncomfortable' about the new medical evidence that a 'sense of injustice is provoked'. He said the psychiatrist was first instructed in 2023 and was initially given some, but not all, of the relevant medical material. Mr Henry said: 'What we have here is a psychiatrist, 30 years after the event, diagnosing depression and PTSD.' The barrister said there had been six medical reports on Stewart closer to the time, adding 'every single one of those doctors examined the applicant in person'. He said none of them had concluded there was evidence of mental illness. He added: 'We have six reports, all closer to the time, all doctors properly instructed, all examined the applicant and none of them had concerns about mental illness at the time of the offending.' The barrister then referred to emails from Stewart's husband, David Stewart, to her solicitor, in which Mr Stewart had said medical experts were attempting to find evidence of mental illness but would not be able to. Mr Henry said: 'Finally a doctor has been found who will say something sympathetic.' The barrister said the recent psychiatric report was in 'direct contravention' of all previous medical evidence, describing it as 'one solitary voice'. He said that after the new psychiatric report, the court was 'nowhere near' the point where it could allow an appeal over the sentence to proceed. Mr Kelly denied that Stewart's legal team had been 'shopping for a psychiatrist'. Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan said the court would rule on the application next month. Following the hearing, Dr Bradford-Clarke was hugged by a number of supporters and friends outside court.
Irish Times
23-05-2025
- Irish Times
Hazel Stewart ‘under coercive control' of lover Colin Howell when respective spouses murdered
Double murderer Hazel Stewart was under the coercive control of her then lover, Colin Howell, when the couple killed her husband and his wife, the Court of Appeal has been told. Judgment was reserved on whether to grant Stewart leave to appeal her sentence of a minimum of 18 years in prison. Stewart, a 62-year-old former Sunday school teacher, and her former lover, dentist Howell, were convicted in 2011 of the murders of their spouses, Trevor Buchanan (32) and Lesley Howell (31). The Belfast court on Friday heard an application to extend time to allow an appeal against the sentence to take place. READ MORE Stewart watched proceedings via videolink from Hydebank women's prison in south Belfast. Brendan Kelly KC, for Stewart, argued that his client had been under the coercive control of Howell at the time of the murders. He argued that as this concept 'was not identified or recognised' at the time of her trial in 2011, this should be regarded as fresh evidence and an appeal allowed. Mr Kelly outlined to the court new reports from a consultant psychiatrist, which state that Stewart had been suffering from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder following an abortion in 1990 after she became pregnant by Howell. He said these, coupled with Howell's coercive behaviour, 'ought to have been taken into account when determining the minimum term' of Stewart's sentence. 'That is what is at the core of this application,' he said. Prosecution barrister Philip Henry KC challenged the medical evidence, saying it had been provided 13 years after the event. He said it was 'in direct contradiction to the expert opinion of every doctor that has gone before', none of whom 'had any concerns about mental illness at the time of the offending'. It was, he added, 'a minority opinion without any support'. He also argued that the court had no jurisdiction to hear the case as Stewart had abandoned a previous appeal. Lady Chief Justice Siobhan Keegan, sitting with two senior judges, requested clarification and the submission of documents on several issues. She said she aimed to give a ruling on the application next month. The bodies of Buchanan and Howell were found inside a fume-filled garage in Castlerock, Co Derry, in 1991. Police originally believed they had died in a suicide pact after discovering their partners were having an affair. The case was reopened in 2009 after Howell confessed to their murders and implicated Stewart in a plot to drug and kill them. Previous attempts to have her convictions overturned have failed. Relatives of the victims, including Lesley Howell's daughter Lauren and siblings of Trevor Buchanan, were in court for Friday's hearing.
BBC News
23-05-2025
- BBC News
Hazel Stewart: Double murderer was under coercive control, court told
Convicted double murderer Hazel Stewart was under the coercive control of her former lover when they plotted their partners' deaths, the Court of Appeal has former Sunday school teacher appeared before the court via video link from prison, where she is serving a minimum of 18 years for killing her policeman husband and the wife of her ex-lover Colin is seeking permission to mount a fresh bid for an earlier release from a former dentist, pleaded guilty to the murders in 2010. Depression and PTSD On Friday, the court heard "new evidence" in the case concerning Stewart's mental health at the time of her Kelly KC, acting on her behalf, told the court new evidence had come to light from a psychiatrist who believed Stewart had been suffering from depression and PTSD at the time of the murders of Constable Trevor Buchanan, 32, and Howell's 31-year-old wife Lesley Howell in told the court: "At the time of the killings, there is evidence that the applicant was suffering from two forms of mental health - depression and PTSD - and coupled to the coercive behaviour of the co-defendant, these are features that ought to have been taken into account when determining the minimum term of the life sentence."That's what is at the core of this application." Psychiatrist's view a 'minority one' He argued at the time of Stewart's sentencing in 2011, the issue of coercive control was not fully understood, in particular in the context of mental suggested had it been understood at the time of Stewart's sentencing, the new evidence would have been Philip Henry KC for the Crown told the court the opinion of Dr Harding, the psychiatrist cited by Stewart's legal team, was a "minority" one "without any support from other doctors".He referred to reports compiled by five other psychiatrists, none of whom, he said, identified mental illness in said those reports had been compiled closer to the time of the trial and sentencing, and were based on the same information that Dr Harding had based his more recent report on."None of them had any concerns about mental illness at the time of the offending," he court also heard submissions regarding whether or not it had jurisdiction to hear an appeal in this case. The bodies of Constable Buchanan and Lesley Howell were found in a fume-filled garage in Castlerock, County Londonderry, in originally thought they had killed themselves in a suicide pact after discovering their partners were having an were, in fact, murdered before their bodies were arranged to make it look like they had taken their own took nearly two decades for the truth to emerge when Howell, 52, suddenly confessed to both was subsequently sentenced to a minimum of 21 years in also implicated his former lover in the plot and gave evidence against her at her the trial the court heard that Howell had planned and carried out the killings and Stewart had facilitated them - by drugging her husband, allowing Howell into her house and disposing of a hose pipe used in the Friday, Lady Chief Justice Siobhan Keegan said the court would reserve its decision in the bid for said the court would have to consider all that was said to the court and would await additional information from Stewart's team and the said the court would make its ruling in June.
