Questions left unanswered: Family of murder victims seek fresh inquiry into deaths
Two years ago, Alan Hawe killed his wife, Clodagh, and their three sons. Now Clodagh’s mother and sister want a fresh inquiry to give insight into such acts, says .
ON August 29, 2016, Alan Hawe, a 40-year-old school teacher, murdered his wife, Clodagh, and their sons, Liam, Niall, and Ryan. Now, Clodagh’s mother, Mary, and sister, Jacqueline, showing immense courage, have called for a new inquiry.
As I wrote in this newspaper following the inquest into this horrendous act, key questions remain unanswered.
The primary question is: Were the murders attributable to Alan Hawe having a mental health difficulty?
The answers matter not only to the extended family and to the community, but to our society and to how we understand and support those who experience such difficulties.
The word ‘attributable’ places an obligation on us to go beyond asking whether Alan Hawe had mental health difficulties to being sure that it was these difficulties that caused or enabled him to murder his family. This raises the key question of capacity: Did Alan Hawe know what he was doing, and was he aware of its implications? Was he capable of making an informed decision about his actions?
Attributing acts of murder/suicide or familicide to mental health difficulties must only occur when we are certain. Speculative attribution not only does a disservice to the victims, but also does significant damage to our understanding of these difficulties and how they might manifest themselves.
Put simply, it adds to already existing stigma and misunderstandings.
People with mental health difficulties are no more likely to commit violent crime than people without mental health difficulties. They are, however, more likely to harm themselves.
Despite this, research conducted last year by St Patrick’s Mental Health Services, of which I am CEO, indicates that 37% of people would not trust someone who experienced post-natal depression to babysit, 18% would not knowingly marry someone previously hospitalised with depression, and 16% would not be entirely comfortable living next door to someone who experiences bi-polar moods.
While these figures represent a year-on-year improvement in comparison to 2017, the findings are still a cause for concern. The pace at which society is overcoming the stigma remains painfully slow.
Of course, people with mental health difficulties, just like anyone, can be violent, but this does not mean the violence should automatically be attributed to their difficulties.
"Her Name is Clodagh" - @ClaireByrneLive special. Tonight at 10.35pm@RTEOne #CBLive pic.twitter.com/dXrwTz9a97
— Upfront with Katie Hannon (@RTEUpfront) February 25, 2019
Convincing ourselves that perpetrators of horrendous acts are, by virtue of mental illness, not fully responsible for their actions, risks preventing us from searching for an understanding of the true nature of such acts.
There is no doubt that Alan Hawe planned this act, that he was distressed and angry, and that he was facing significant life challenges. There is evidence that he believed these would in some way impact on Clodagh and their sons.
These facts are consistent with the growing international evidence that identifies stress and male proprietariness, in combination with an exaggerated sense of responsibility, as important contributory factors to murder- suicide and familicide.
Clodagh’s mother and sister believe that many questions still need to be answered. They know these answers will be difficult to obtain, but they believe that it might help them find some resolution. More importantly, they believe we need more insight into why such acts are perpetrated and how we might prevent them. They believe that this can only be achieved through a new investigation.
Many will feel reopening this terrible wound is unnecessary and misguided. But, in truth, these murders remain unresolved.
The facts and evidence need to be freshly assessed. Our prejudices about mental health, and those experiencing mental health difficulties, need to be left to one side. We need to be brave enough to confront the possibility that such actions might be attributable to distress and anger. We need to have the courage to attempt to make sense of the belief and value system underpinning such barbaric acts.
All incidents of murder-suicide and familicide warrant thorough review and investigation.
We need to learn as much as we can from such incidents to help us to better protect children and vulnerable partners. Such reviews must not be focused on attributing blame, but rather on understanding and learning. Seeking to objectively process the facts, and to avoid accepting retrospective opinion formation, needs to be a core principle.
Clodagh’s mother and sister are, through their commitment to finding the truth, doing us a tremendous service.
They are asking the questions we all want and need answered. Their determination to ensure the voices of Clodagh and the boys do not remain silenced is admirable. Their desire to ensure other vulnerable families are protected is one we must all share.
We owe it to Clodagh, Liam, Niall, and Ryan to ensure we do all we can to find out why they died in such a horrendous manner.
As Clodagh’s mother and sister have done, we need to challenge ourselves, to look into our hearts, and to ask ourselves if we are truly committed to finding the truth.
