Clodagh Hawe murder: new law on killers profiting stalls
:: Husband is under arrest :: Son raised the alarm
Clodagh Hawe: Family to meet Garda Commissioner next week
A NEW law to block killers or their estates benefiting from their crimes is being stalled by Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan.
The demands for answers by the family of Clodagh Hawe, who was murdered with her three children by her husband, Alan Hawe, have sparked a renewed focus on women killed by their partners.
And it comes as a mother-ofthree died after she was knifed in the neck and face multiple times in an upstairs bedroom of her west Dublin home in
Cathy Ward: Husband arrested after mother stabbed to death
front of two of her children. Gardaí made the shocking discovery after one of Cathy Ward’s sons raised the alarm in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Last night, gardaí were continuing to question the 51-yearold husband of Ms Ward (41) in connection with the death of his wife. Alan Ward was detained at Lucan garda station after his arrest at the family home at Greenfort Drive in Clondalkin in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Meanwhile, Mary Coll and Jacqueline Connolly, the mother and sister of Clodagh, are due to meet Garda
Celine Cawley: Minister drags heels on ‘profiting from death’ law
Commissioner Drew Harris next week. But Mr Flanagan is dragging his heels on a proposed law to stop killers or their estates benefiting from their crimes.
‘Celine’s Law’ was proposed in the wake of Celine Cawley’s killing by her husband Eamonn Lillis.
Clodagh’s family also want the law enacted amid fears Mr Hawe’s estate stands to benefit after he murdered his wife (39) and sons Liam (14), Niall (11) and Ryan (6) at their home near Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan, in 2016.
A MOTHER-of-three died after she was stabbed in the neck and face multiple times in front of two of her children in an upstairs bedroom of her home.
Gardaí made the shocking discovery after one of Cathy Ward’s son’s raised the alarm in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Last night, officers were continuing to question the 51-yearold husband of Ms Ward (41) in connection with the death of his wife.
Alan Ward was detained at Lucan garda station after his arrest at the family home at Greenfort Drive in Clondalkin, Dublin, in the early hours of yesterday morning.
It is understood Cathy and Alan Ward and their family had previously lived in the Killinarden Heights in Tallaght before moving to Greenfort Drive over a decade ago.
Gardaí are following a definite line of inquiry and are not currently looking for any other suspects. They have also not formally issued an appeal for information.
Neighbours who brought flowers to the scene said Cathy was a quiet woman who had lived at the house with her partner for more than 10 years.
“You would often see them going to the shops together and carrying their bags back. They’re a quiet couple, really. It’s a terrible shock that this has happened,” said one local woman.
“It’s awful, especially for her children. It’s a quiet road and we didn’t expect this,” said another.
“It was around 12.45am this morning when we saw the blue lights arriving. We thought it might be somebody that had been sick or had an accident, but to wake up this morning and see the garda tape around the street and the gardaí at the house was a shock,” she added.
It is understood that gardaí were notified of the incident in an emergency phone call after one of the couple’s sons raised the alarm.
They were alerted to an incident at the house at 12.30am yesterday and when they arrived, they found Ms Ward with serious stab wounds.
Emergency personnel were called for and attended the scene, but Ms Ward was pronounced dead at around 2am.
The scene was sealed off pending a forensic examination by members of the Garda Technical Bureau.
That examination began at 10am yesterday.
Officers could be seen taking photographs of the scene both inside and outside the house, and collecting samples which were placed in labelled evidence bags.
In the front garden, a chair could be seen over an upturned plastic bucket which was covering a piece of evidence.
Gardaí later removed a mobile phone from under the bucket.
Bloodstains could be seen on the handle of the front door, as well as on the doorstep.
At 11am, Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis was brought to the scene to carry out a preliminary examination on Ms Ward’s body.
He spent around 45 minutes at the scene, before an ambulance van from the city morgue arrived and the body was removed for a post-mortem examination.
The victim’s husband was questioned throughout the day at Lucan garda station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.
A garda spokesman said: “Gardaí have arrested a man in his 50s following a fatal assault at Greenfort Drive, Clondalkin, Dublin 22 at 12.30am on March 1 2019.
“At 12.30am, gardaí were called to an incident at a house at Greenfort Drive, Clondalkin.
“A woman in her 40s was found with serious injuries believed to be stab wounds.
“The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.”
“A man in his 50s was arrested and he is detained at Lucan garda station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984,” the spokesman added.
‘You would often see them going to the shops together’