Hawe case review imminent
The Serious Case Review of the investigation into the murder-suicide of the Hawe family from Cavan is now working “towards its conclusion”, The Anglo-Celt has learned.
Clodagh (39) and her sons Liam (13), Niall (11) and Ryan (6) were killed by husband and father Alan Hawe (40) at their home in Castlerahan in August 2016. Mr Hawe then took his own life.
In 2019, confirmation was given to Clodagh’s surviving family, mum Mary Coll and sister Jacqueline Connolly, that Garda Commissioner Drew Harris had appointed Assistant Garda Commissioner Barry O’Brien to head the serious case review.
Clodagh’s family have always called for a full inquiry into the four murders near Ballyjamesduff and asked that the information gathered during the course of the garda investigation into the deaths be shared as soon as practicable with the next of kin.
That has happened to date, with yet another meeting to take place between Ms Coll and Ms Connolly and Garda investigators next week.
The status, Comm Harris told the Celt at the weekend, remains “underway”.
Asked if, once completed, the findings will be made public, he said: “It’s not our usual practice, in effect, that we would publish that. But we would work with the close relatives and keep them informed of progress.”
Comm Harris added his hope that the Serious Case Review can provide the families “with some answers and hopefully some degree of closure to this terrible, terrible, horrendous crime. What we want to do is to close off as many of the lines of enquiry as we can and satisfy the family in that all that we can do has been done.”
Independent study
The Serious Case Review is separate to an independent study being carried out aimed at examining international best practice in the conduct of domestic homicide reviews.
According to the Department of Justice, that is expected to be published in the “coming weeks”.
“When received, the Minister will examine the report in detail and is committed to considering any recommendations made as a priority,” said a department spokesperson.
“This independent study is looking at international best practice in the conduct of domestic homicide reviews with a view to making recommendations in relation to their application in this jurisdiction,” they added.
The focus now is on allowing any persons or organisations who might be affected by the contents of the draft report to reply. “Invariably, this part of the process can take time as it involves engaging with multiple parties. However, it is an essential part of the process.”