Dentist's Double Murder Secret Haunts Children for 18 Years
A Northern Ireland dentist who murdered his wife and his lover's husband kept his horrific crimes hidden for nearly two decades, allowing his own children to believe their mother had taken her own life. Colin Howell, from Castlerock, later confessed to the 1991 killings, revealing a twisted plot that shattered multiple families.
The Chilling Crimes and Cover-Up
In 1991, Colin Howell and his lover Hazel Buchanan conspired to murder their respective spouses, Lesley Howell and Trevor Buchanan. Howell, described by a judge as having "carefully planned and ruthlessly executed" the murders, killed both victims as they slept. He then staged the scene to make it appear as though the pair had died by suicide, placing their bodies in a car filled with exhaust fumes to mislead police investigators.
For 18 years, this deception remained intact, with Howell maintaining the facade that his wife had taken her own life. It was not until 2009 that he finally walked into a police station and confessed to the double murder, unveiling the truth that had haunted his family for almost two decades.
Children's Heartbreaking Revelations
In a recent ITV documentary, Killer in the House, Howell's children have spoken out about the devastating impact of discovering their father's crimes. His daughter Lauren recalled the moment she learned the truth, saying, "I physically fell on the floor. Cold blood ran through my body and I was so angry."
Her brother Jonathan described the emotional turmoil, stating, "It felt like chaos inside. I will just never understand." He went on to label his father's actions as "twisted" and expressed his inability to comprehend the motive behind the murders.
"At what point do you suggest to your lover, maybe we kill them? That's an answer that I'll never get," Jonathan said. "The motive behind their decision to murder is unfathomable. Rather than have his own reputation tarnished by leaving his wife for another woman, he would rather violently murder two people and hide it in a twisted world."
Rejecting a Father's Legacy
The children have since distanced themselves from Howell, with Jonathan asserting, "I don't consider him my father, I never should have been raised by him. I should have been raised by my mother." Another son, Daniel, moved from London to New York to escape the shadow of being known as the "crazy dentist killer's" son.
"I tend to refer to him as Colin, I don't know what it means to forgive him," Daniel explained. "When he chose to murder my mother, in my opinion, he chose to abdicate from his role as a father. My whole identity got caught up being the killer's son."
He recounted an incident where someone in London recognised his accent and exclaimed, "Oh my god, you're Colin's son, the crazy dentist killer." This prompted his decision to relocate, as he sought to "be my own person and have my own identity."
Justice Served After Decades
In December 2010, Colin Howell was sentenced to a minimum of 21 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of murder. Sentencing him, Mr Justice Hart condemned the "cold blooded, carefully planned and ruthlessly executed double murder of two people who Howell saw as standing in the way of his adulterous desire to be with Hazel Buchanan."
Hazel Buchanan, who remarried and became known as Hazel Stewart, was found guilty of murder and jailed for 18 years. The court heard that she cried out for her son Matthew as her husband gassed him, with Matthew tragically dying years later after a fall in Russia.
This case remains a stark reminder of how secrets can fester for years, leaving a legacy of trauma for the families involved, long after justice is formally served.
