Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
PSYCHOTIC DAD KILLED TO HIDE SECRET SHAME
Family’s anger as suicide note detailing motive not read in court
ALAN Hawe butchered his family to avoid a secret being exposed that would have ruined his reputation.
Yesterday his shame was protected in a court when his suicide note was given to the jury but not made public.
Hawe, 40, was found to have unlawfully killed wife Clodagh, 39, and sons Liam, 14, Niall, 11, and six-year-old Ryan before taking his own life in Co Cavan in August 2016.
A statement read for Clodagh’s family said: “This does not address why he committed this savagery.
“He was concerned about his position as ‘a pillar of the community’ and concerned at his imminent fall.”
DETAILS of mass killer Alan Hawe’s secret shame look set to remain private after his suicide notes were not read at an inquest.
He had detailed in a three page, hand written letter his reasons for taking the lives of his wife Clodagh, 39, and their children Liam, 14, Niall, 11, six-year-old Ryan, and his hanging.
A copy of his letter which referred to his “fall from grace” was handed to the jury but the details were not read.
They concluded Clodagh and her boys had all been unlawfully killed in their home in August last year.
And they said Hawe, who killed his family using his bare hands, two knives and an axe, took his own life.
Outside Cavan Courthouse a statement from Clodagh’s mum Mary Coll and sister Jacqueline Connolly was read by solicitor Liam Keane.
He said: “The inquest does not address why Alan Hawe committed this savagery but his counsellor has said he was concerned about his position as ‘a pillar of the community’ and we are aware he was concerned at his imminent fall from that position and the breakdown of his marriage.”
On the second day of the inquest, the killer’s psychotherapist revealed he has seen his client once a week for 10 weeks.
David Mcconnell said teacher Hawe wanted his marriage to get back to the way it had once been.
THERAPIST
He had told the therapist he had become “a little bit down” after graduating before getting a job but things improved once he started working.
Mr Mcconnell said the killer had been suffering from stress and a fear of being shamed and viewed in his community as being less than perfect.
He told the court: “He placed a high value on family life, on being a good husband and father. He spoke openly and with emotion and was stressed.
“He was having difficulty and said, ‘People think of me as a pillar of the community. Oh, if only they knew’. He wept as he spoke and my reaction was an empathetic one.
“His words, ‘If only they knew,’ referred to matters discussed in the therapy. He had a fear of shame and being seen as less than perfect.”
Hawe did not indicate to his therapist that he had any intentions of harming his family or himself.
Mr Mcconnell held an appointment slot open for Hawe and gave him a series of coping mechanisms to deal with stress.
He later texted the therapist “no further sessions will be required”.
Hawe’s GP Dr Paula Mckevitt testified he had not had suicidal thoughts.
He had though presented with an infected toe. Dr Mckevitt said: “He had been using the bleach Domestos to clean his feet. He had a fungal infection in a toe. I advised him to used Savlon and an emollient.”
She took a blood sample before Hawe admitted feeling “run down”, suffering from a sore throat, mouth ulcers and insomnia. He told his GP he had been feeling stressed and isolated about a conflict with a colleague and that was suffering from insomnia. Dr Mckevitt said: “I prescribed him some sleeping tablets. He said he was not looking to be off work sick and would be OK if he could just get through the next few days. He was going to Italy and was looking forward to it.”
Hawe had attended the GP’S surgery and therapist on the afternoon of June 21, 2016. When she asked if Clodagh was aware of his concerns, he told his “she knew about it”. Dr Mckevitt added: “His behaviour seemed normal. Nothing in the consultation raised concern.”
The GP said she was not aware of any history of depression in Hawe’s past and did not know he had been attending psychotherapist.
The GP later met Clodagh who described the trip as a “good holiday”.
Prof Harry Kennedy – a consultant forensic psychiatrist – testified Hawe suffered from depressive and anxiety-based symptoms for 10 years.
These, he believe progressed to “psychotic” symptoms by the time of the murders.
Prof Kennedy told the court: “He progressed from a long-standing depressive illness with anxiety and somatic concerns to severe depressive episode with psychotic symptoms.” The witness added people like Hawe often had “delusional beliefs”.
He said: “Like some catastrophe is pending. It was much more likely that Hawe was suffering from a longgp standing depressive illness and severe depressive episodes with psychotic episodes.”
Prof Kennedy, who was asked by the coroner to review medical documentation but who had never met or
examined the killler, added other symptoms pointed to mental illness.
In Hawe’s case they included depression, such as agitation, disturbance of sleep, worries over physical health, concerns of a lacking in self-confidence and issues concerning “bad outcomes at work which appear to be unrealistic”.
Prof Kennedy explained he was limited in his opinion because of the information available to him. When
asked by Clodagh’s mum Mary Coll if he had ever considered asking her family or Hawe’s family about the killer’s personality, it was confirmed he had been restricted by the remit of the investigation asked of him.
Mrs Coll said: “I knew Hawe for 20 years and I didn’t know him.”
At the close of the hearing, coroner Dr Mary Flanagan said she had never been at an inquest where the foreman of the jury was almost brought to tears delivering the verdicts.
She added: “I just want to express my deepest sympathies with the Coll and the Hawe families. There are no words to describe the upset that befell your family. It’s unimaginable”
The foreman added: “We have no words other than to say we are so sorry.” In a statement on behalf of Clodagh’s mum and sister, Mr Keane added: “On August 29, 2016, we lost our daughter and sister Clodagh and her lovely sons Liam, Niall and Ryan in the most horrific circumstances.
“They were savagely and brutally killed by Alan Hawe in a premeditated and calculated manner.
“We are aware the inquest has a limited role in law in that its function is restricted to establishing how, where and when our loved ones died.
“However, it is clear from the evidence presented that Clodagh and the boys were killed in a sequence that ensured that the eldest and most likely to provide effective resistance were killed first, and in a manner which rendered them unable to cry for help.
“While the psychiatrist has
The inquest does not address why Alan Hawe committed the savagery COLL FAMILY STATEMENT CAVAN YESTERDAY
attempted as best he could to create a retrospective diagnosis, his GP who knew him for five years said he never displayed any signs of depression.
“We want to thank Gardai Ratcliff and Walsh, the gardaí at the scene, Sgt Arthur O’connor, Sgt John Roddy, the garda family liaison officer, the other frontline responders, our family, friends and neighbours in Virginia, Clodagh’s friends, colleagues and the community in Oristown, Co Meath, where she worked.
“We are aware of those affected by these killings especially Liam, Niall and Ryan’s friends and their parents.
“We ask the media and the public generally to respect our privacy.”
No one from the Hawe family attended either day of the inquest.