I fear my sons’ killer father will visit their grave
A GRIEVING mother whose two sons were murdered by their father fears she will meet her killer exhusband at the boys’ graveside if he is granted parole.
Kathleen Chada says it’s a ‘farce’ that Sanjeev Chada is able to apply for parole just seven years after murdering their children.
Ms Chada’s world was shattered when her husband, who was facing fraud charges, murdered ten-yearold Eoghan and five-year-old Ruairi on July 29, 2013.
He killed the boys at Skehanagh Lower in Ballintubber, Co. Mayo, and their bodies were found in the boot of his car, which he had crashed near Westport. Chada received a double life sentence for his crimes, but is now in the process of applying for early release.
Speaking to the Irish Daily Mail, Kathleen said she received the shock news just two days before what would have been Eoghan’s birthday. ‘I was driving to work when I got a phone from the Irish Prison Service to inform me that Sanjeev is applying for parole,’ she said. ‘It really knocked me for six – especially when I thought I had another five years before he could apply. It was particularly emotional as it was just two days before what would have been Eoghan’s 17th birthday.
‘It was also nearing the anniversary of my children’s deaths.’
While she is confident that he won’t be granted parole after serving just seven years in prison, she said: ‘I will still have to brace myself every couple of years when he can appeal his sentence once again. I feel the whole parole system we currently have is a farce.’ Ms Chada said there is a real possibility that her children’s killer will walk free one day.
‘The thought of meeting him at their grave is still very worrying,’ she said. ‘In all likelihood, he’ll remain in prison for at least another ten years but I’ve always felt that Sanjeev believes he is still entitled to visit their graveside.
‘He’s not entitled to grieve for them at all, in my opinion, and I just hope that I’ll never have to see him again.
‘I think he should be in jail for the rest of his natural life.’
She is now calling on Justice Minister Helen McEntee to urgently commence a parole act which was passed into Irish law last July. The new Bill – requiring killers to serve at least 12 years before they can apply for parole – went through the Dáil and Seanad in 2019. However, the legislation has yet to be implemented by the Department of Justice.
Ms Chada said that she will never forgive her former husband for his horrific crimes. ‘Our ability to forgive is finite whereas God’s is infinite, so I’ll leave it in God’s hands,’ she said.