Calls for justice for murdered Sligo man
THE wife of murdered Sligo man Pat Ward has said she wants justice following his death.
Ellie Ward who has four children with the 30 year old who was found stabbed to death in an alleyway on Saturday morning in Co Tyrone, is appealing to the public for information.
It is understood that he had suffered stab wounds.
Detective Chief Inspector Peter McKenna said on Saturday: “A post-mortem examination has yet to take place but I am treating his death as murder.”
Ms Ward (29) has been reported saying she feels she is in ‘a dream’ and has not woken up yet.
She said she last saw her husband on Friday night, when he went out for a drink at around 6pm. He briefly returned home at about 10.30pm before leaving again, and that was the last time she saw him alive.
“He didn’t come home that night, and he didn’t answer his phone,” she said.
“I heard that a body had been found, and they believed it was my husband. It was the worst news of my life.”
She added, “It was so devastating to have to go and identify my husband’s body in the morgue at such a young age. I was told he had been stabbed.
“He was robbed of his life, he had so many plans for his future. He loved his family - his kids, his brothers and sisters.”
Describing her husband as her ‘soulmate’, Ms Ward said she will have to move away from the area as it has too many memories.
“When I go out my front door I see the alleyway where he was lying for hours, where he was brutally murdered.”
Ellie said she wants justice for her husband, but can’t bear to stay in their home overlooking the murder scene.
“As soon as everything calms down I will pack, there are too many memories here,” she said.
Ms Ward has said her two eldest children are ‘very upset’. Mr Ward was father to Tom (10), Leonie (8), Chanara (3) and Pat Jr (14 months).
“Due to this ordeal my kids will grow up without a father, and I will live the rest of my life without a husband. It’s so sad that he has lost his life in such a brutal way.”
Referring to the murder of Pat’s brother Tom in 2007, Ms Ward said her husband missed his slain sibling.
“Pat missed his brother so much, and he used to talk about him every day.”
Meanwhile, members of the Ward family have been taking to social media to express their grief following Mr Wards death.
His niece Bridget Ward claimed that her uncle had been stabbed a number of times in the attack.
“My heart’s shattered. After 10 years history was repeated, second murder,” she wrote on Saturday. “RIP Pat, second uncle to be murdered AKA Big Bang. Found at six o’clock this morning... may you rest easy uncle.”
On the day that Mr Ward’s body was discovered his brother Martin posted a photo of him sitting at the side of a boxing ring, and said: “My poor brother Pat who was murdered this morning.
“You’re with Tom now Pat, so fly high brothers.”
Sligo Fine Gael representative Blaine Gaffney, who went to school with Mr Ward, described the young father’s death as a “massive shock”.
Police have arrested a 23-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman on suspicion of murder.
A source has claimed that the young man being quizzed by detectives is also originally from the Sligo area, and was known to Mr Ward.
Sunday night the PSNI revealed that a court had granted detectives an additional 36 hours for questioning.