Children of Double Murderer Break Silence on Decades of Deception
The children of convicted double murderer Colin Howell have revealed they spent nearly two decades believing their mother had died by suicide before discovering the horrifying truth about her death. In a powerful new ITV documentary, Lauren, Daniel and Jon Howell have spoken publicly for the first time about the devastating impact of their father's crimes and the elaborate cover-up that followed.
A Sinister Cover-Up Unravelled
Colin Howell, now 65, and his former lover Hazel Stewart, 62, murdered their respective spouses in May 1991. Lesley Howell, 31, and police officer Trevor Buchanan, 32, were found dead in a fume-filled garage in Castlerock, County Londonderry. The killer dentist meticulously staged the scene to appear as a double suicide pact between two people whose partners were having an affair.
For seventeen years, this deception held firm. Police initially accepted the suicide narrative, and the victims' families were left grieving under false pretenses. The truth only emerged in 2008 when Howell confessed to church elders, revealing that both victims had been drugged before being murdered and their bodies arranged to simulate suicide.
A Childhood Built on Lies
In 'Killer In The House: The Murders Of Lesley Howell and Trevor Buchanan', which airs on ITV1, Lauren Bradford-Clarke describes growing up with the belief that her mother had taken her own life. "For 18 years I believed that my mum died in a suicide pact," she reveals. "It turned out that my dad and Hazel had actually killed her."
The documentary captures the siblings' emotional journey as they revisit childhood memories through photographs and home videos. Lauren recalls the day after her brother Daniel's second birthday in May 1991, when she asked where her mother was. "There was three or four men from the church sitting on the patio talking with my dad," she remembers. "I got a sense it was a bit serious."
The children were told their mother had "gone to heaven" and wouldn't be returning. Lauren, then just four years old, describes feeling "lost" without truly understanding what had happened. The explanation that her mother had "died from car fumes" left her terrified during childhood, fearing walking behind vehicles in case she inhaled deadly gases.
A Twisted Family Dynamic
The documentary reveals the complex family relationships that developed in the aftermath of the murders. Lauren describes how she enjoyed spending time with Hazel Stewart after her mother's death, engaging in "girly things" and cherishing that attention. When Howell later broke up with Stewart and married American Kyle Jorgensen, Lauren was "so very upset" by the loss.
Jon Howell speaks candidly about the religious environment in which they were raised, describing it as "an enormous part of growing up" that made him want to "be compliant and be a good Christian and a good son." He reveals disturbing details about their father's behaviour, stating: "Control was a big part of it. I saw true violence in my father. What I now understand to be true child abuse."
The Shocking Revelation
The truth finally emerged in December 2008 when Howell, having suffered financial ruin from a failed investment scheme in the Philippines, took his sons to a Chinese restaurant and announced he needed to "come clean." Jon recalls the moment church elders revealed his father was a murderer: "It just felt like chaos inside. I just didn't and will never understand."
Lauren describes physically collapsing when she learned the truth. "Cold blood ran through my body and I felt angry," she says. "We're realising this horrible truth, the years and decades of lies that were told, knowing how that had actually impacted me."
Living with the Aftermath
Daniel Howell speaks about the psychological impact of discovering his father's crimes. "It kind of felt like my whole life was deconstructed," he admits. He eventually moved to New York to escape being known as "the killer's son" after a colleague in London recognised his name and accent.
All three siblings have taken steps to distance themselves from their father. Jon has changed his surname to his mother's maiden name, Clarke, explaining: "It was important for me to honour my mum. I want to pass on her last name." Daniel states plainly: "I tend to refer to him as Colin. When he chose to murder my mother he, in my view, abdicated from his role as a father."
Legal Consequences and Continuing Trauma
Colin Howell was imprisoned for at least 21 years in 2010 for the double murder. He also received a concurrent five-and-a-half year sentence in 2011 for indecent assaults on five female patients. Hazel Stewart was jailed for at least 18 years in 2011 after being implicated by Howell's confession.
The documentary addresses Stewart's failed appeal attempt last July, with Lauren expressing frustration: "At some point she just has to accept this and stop dragging us through this. It's enough. She will be eligible for parole soon, she will get out. I have a life sentence. I will never get my mum back."
The case continues to generate media attention, with a separate BBC documentary recently broadcasting Howell's confession tapes. Lauren has criticised the BBC for not allowing her to hear the tapes before broadcast, saying hearing his voice brought back feelings of "shock, horror and trauma."
The story was previously dramatised in the 2016 ITV mini-series 'The Secret', starring James Nesbitt as Colin Howell and Genevieve O'Reilly as Hazel Stewart. The new documentary provides the authentic voices of those most directly affected - the children who grew up believing one story about their mother's death, only to discover a far more horrifying truth two decades later.
