This is the dramatic moment when Colin Howell's second wife, Kyle Jorgensen, informed police of his confession to a double murder, while failing to disclose that she had been aware of the killings for an entire decade. Howell, a 65-year-old former dentist, and his ex-lover Hazel Stewart, aged 62, were convicted for the murders of their respective spouses, Lesley Howell and police officer Trevor Buchanan, in May 1991.
A Decade of Deception Uncovered
Howell initially revealed his crimes to Ms Jorgensen in 1998, admitting he had killed both victims, whose bodies were discovered in a fume-filled garage in Castlerock, County Londonderry. Despite this shocking admission, Howell persuaded Ms Jorgensen to remain silent, perpetuating the cover-up as a double suicide. Over the following ten years, the couple had five children together, with Ms Jorgensen keeping his horrific secret hidden from authorities.
Confession and Conviction
The respected dentist eventually confessed to elders in his church and then to police in January 2009, leading to his imprisonment for a minimum of 21 years in 2010. He also implicated former Sunday school teacher Hazel Stewart, who was jailed for at least 18 years in 2011, with her appeal against the sentence being denied last July. Additionally, Howell received a concurrent five-and-a-half-year sentence in 2011 for indecent assaults on five female patients.
Revelations in New Documentary
A new episode of 'Confessions of a Killer' on BBC Two this Sunday unveils footage of Ms Jorgensen speaking to detectives just hours after Howell's arrest. In the interview, conducted on January 29, 2009, at 8.30pm, she introduces herself as 'Kyle Jorgenson Howell, wife of Colin Howell.' An officer explains they are there because Howell has made disclosures about events from 17 or 18 years earlier.
Ms Jorgensen, who is American, recounts how she urged Howell to confess, quoting John 8:32 from the Bible: 'The truth will set you free.' She describes a tense exchange where Howell initially resisted, saying 'I can't because if it comes out it will hurt people,' but she insisted, 'no, you must say.' After five minutes of persuasion, Howell finally admitted, 'I did it. I did it.'
Journalist's Insight
Jilly Beattie, a journalist who has followed the case for years, notes in the programme that Ms Jorgensen appeared animated during the video, emphasising how she repeatedly told Howell, 'The truth will set you free.' However, Beattie highlights a critical omission: 'There was one little piece of information that Kyle left out and that was that she knew about this for ten years. He had confessed to her ten years, a decade earlier. And she hadn't told anybody.'
Background and Aftermath
Ms Jorgensen met Howell in December 1996 and married him in May 1997. She admitted in later police interviews that Howell had confessed to her in August or September 1998, while she was feeding their first child in their home. Despite this, they went on to have four more children together. Ms Jorgensen already had two children from a previous marriage in Colorado, and Howell had four children from his marriage to Lesley Howell.
Initially, police believed the deaths were a suicide pact, given the victims' partners were having an affair. In reality, Howell and Stewart drugged the victims, murdered them, and arranged the scene to mimic suicide. Howell blackmailed Ms Jorgensen into silence by threatening suicide and appealing to the welfare of their children.
Legal and Personal Consequences
Ms Jorgensen eventually prompted Howell to confess after he lost £353,000 in a fraudulent gold investment scheme in the Philippines. Following his arrest in 2009, she was placed under police investigation but returned to Florida with her children and filed for divorce. In 2013, the Public Prosecution Service in Belfast decided not to charge her due to 'insufficient evidence to provide a reasonable prospect of conviction.'
Howell is currently serving his sentence at high-security Maghaberry Prison near Lisburn. In a 2016 interview with the Sunday Mirror, Ms Jorgensen described him as 'a monster,' citing his abuse of patients, compulsive lying, adultery, and the murders.
Family Impact and Media Portrayals
In a separate ITV documentary, Howell's children—Lauren, Daniel, and Jon—revealed they spent 18 years believing their mother died by suicide before learning the truth. Lauren stated, 'For 18 years I believed that my mum died in a suicide pact. It turned out that my dad and Hazel had actually killed her.' Their brother Matthew died aged 22 while studying in Russia.
The case inspired a 2016 ITV mini-drama, 'The Secret,' starring James Nesbitt as Howell and Genevieve O'Reilly as Stewart. 'Confessions of a Killer' airs on BBC Two this Sunday at 9pm and will be available on iPlayer.
