The family of a murdered Derry mother-of-four has said her killer should never be released from prison.
Stephen Cahoon, with a last address at Harvey Street in Derry, was found guilty by unanimous verdict of murdering Jean Quigley on July 26, 2008.
She was ten weeks pregnant with his child at the time.
The 43-year-old had been previously found guilty of the murder in April 2012 and was immediately sentenced to life imprisonment.
However. in March of this year, the Court of Appeal quashed his conviction due to an error in the judge’s instructions to the jury, ordering a retrial.
The jury at Dublin’s Central Criminal Court took just four hours to deliver their verdict on Thursday last.
Ms Justice Deirdre Murphy then sentenced Cahoon to life imprisonment and backdated it to the date of his arrest on August 5, 2008.
The court was told that Cahoon had 12 previous convictions for assault causing harm related to a previous partner between 1997 and 1998, as well as for threatening to kill her. He also had other convictions for assault.
Jean’s mother Emma McBride, and her sister, Ann Marie Quigley, spoke of their relief after the jury delivered their verdict.
“We were told after the last trial that he would never get an appeal, but everything they said that would never happen, it’s happened to us,” Ann Marie said.
“You just don’t know what way it’s going to go with a jury, you’re second guessing the jury all the time, so it was such a relief, because we didn’t think we would have gotten the unanimous verdict.
“Monday (today) would also have been Jean’s 38th birthday, and we’re just so glad that the trial is over and done with before that.”
Emma also said not only did her daughter’s killer show no remorse for the crime, but he also showed no regard for her family by putting them through another trial.
“He didn’t care, all he wanted was to get out, and he would have done or said anything to that,” she said.
She added if the family had have known more about Cahoon’s previous convictions, then they would warned Jean to get out of the relationship.
“Jean wasn’t the first woman he attacked, there was more before that,” Emma told the Derry News.
“The warning signs were all there, but the problem was that he never told us his real name after he met Jean, he told us his name was Stephen Moore, then another name.
“If had have said his name was Stephen Cahoon, we might have heard about what he’d done before.”
She added: “He left that poor girl lying in a field in Belfast after he attacked, the police who came to Jean’s house after he murdered her knew who he was, but we didn’t even know about what’d he’d done before.”
Her mother and sister said because Jean had only been seeing Cahoon for four months before her death, they had not really had the chance to get to know Cahoon, but there had been warning signs, particularly of his controlling behaviour.
Emma said: “There was one day, where she said to me that he had her front door key, and he wouldn’t give it back to her.
“It even got to the point where he was going out on driving lessons with her.
“She came in here and I said to her ‘Go you on out pet, he can stay here with me’, and she went out on the lesson.
“He was in here with Jean one day, and she was asking me if I should leave him. I asked her if she was happy with him, and she said ‘Yes’, but I warned him that he would never, ever lay a hand on her.”
She urged any other woman who is in abusive relationship to get out as soon as they can.
“It might start with a slap, or throwing something, but where does it end?” she added.
“Someone asked me this morning what would I do if I knew there was a woman in a relationship where she was in danger, and I said to her I would tell them to get out, and get out as soon as they could.
“No woman raises a daughter – or a son – to be abused or be a punch bag for someone else.
“If there’s anything to come out of this, it’s that any woman who’s in a relationship where there’s abuse it’s that they should get out.
“If her partner has attacked her once, he will do it again.”
Emma added it was her belief that if Cahoon would do the same thing again were he ever released from prison.
“He should never be allowed out – he’s a danger to women, and if he’s let out he’ll do it again,” she continued.
“His solicitor asked the judge to take into account the time he’s already served, seven years, but that man should never be allowed out, never.
“No mother should ever have to go through what I went though, finding Jean like that.”
Jean and Ann Marie said that they would be commemorating Jean’s birthday with the rest of the family, including her sons, aged 19, 17 and 15 and her 13-year-old daughter.
“She would have been 38, God love her,” Emma concluded.
The family of a murdered Derry mother-of-four has said her killer should never be released from prison.
Stephen Cahoon, with a last address at Harvey Street in Derry, was found guilty by unanimous verdict of murdering Jean Quigley on July 26, 2008.
She was ten weeks pregnant with his child at the time.
The 43-year-old had been previously found guilty of the murder in April 2012 and was immediately sentenced to life imprisonment.
However. in March of this year, the Court of Appeal quashed his conviction due to an error in the judge’s instructions to the jury, ordering a retrial.
The jury at Dublin’s Central Criminal Court took just four hours to deliver their verdict on Thursday last.
Ms Justice Deirdre Murphy then sentenced Cahoon to life imprisonment and backdated it to the date of his arrest on August 5, 2008.
The court was told that Cahoon had 12 previous convictions for assault causing harm related to a previous partner between 1997 and 1998, as well as for threatening to kill her. He also had other convictions for assault.
Jean’s mother Emma McBride, and her sister, Ann Marie Quigley, spoke of their relief after the jury delivered their verdict.
“We were told after the last trial that he would never get an appeal, but everything they said that would never happen, it’s happened to us,” Ann Marie said.
“You just don’t know what way it’s going to go with a jury, you’re second guessing the jury all the time, so it was such a relief, because we didn’t think we would have gotten the unanimous verdict.
“Monday (today) would also have been Jean’s 38th birthday, and we’re just so glad that the trial is over and done with before that.”
Emma also said not only did her daughter’s killer show no remorse for the crime, but he also showed no regard for her family by putting them through another trial.
“He didn’t care, all he wanted was to get out, and he would have done or said anything to that,” she said.
She added if the family had have known more about Cahoon’s previous convictions, then they would warned Jean to get out of the relationship.
“Jean wasn’t the first woman he attacked, there was more before that,” Emma told the Derry News.
“The warning signs were all there, but the problem was that he never told us his real name after he met Jean, he told us his name was Stephen Moore, then another name.
“If had have said his name was Stephen Cahoon, we might have heard about what he’d done before.”
She added: “He left that poor girl lying in a field in Belfast after he attacked, the police who came to Jean’s house after he murdered her knew who he was, but we didn’t even know about what’d he’d done before.”
Her mother and sister said because Jean had only been seeing Cahoon for four months before her death, they had not really had the chance to get to know Cahoon, but there had been warning signs, particularly of his controlling behaviour.
Emma said: “There was one day, where she said to me that he had her front door key, and he wouldn’t give it back to her.
“It even got to the point where he was going out on driving lessons with her.
“She came in here and I said to her ‘Go you on out pet, he can stay here with me’, and she went out on the lesson.
“He was in here with Jean one day, and she was asking me if I should leave him. I asked her if she was happy with him, and she said ‘Yes’, but I warned him that he would never, ever lay a hand on her.”
She urged any other woman who is in abusive relationship to get out as soon as they can.
“It might start with a slap, or throwing something, but where does it end?” she added.
“Someone asked me this morning what would I do if I knew there was a woman in a relationship where she was in danger, and I said to her I would tell them to get out, and get out as soon as they could.
“No woman raises a daughter – or a son – to be abused or be a punch bag for someone else.
“If there’s anything to come out of this, it’s that any woman who’s in a relationship where there’s abuse it’s that they should get out.
“If her partner has attacked her once, he will do it again.”
Emma added it was her belief that if Cahoon would do the same thing again were he ever released from prison.
“He should never be allowed out – he’s a danger to women, and if he’s let out he’ll do it again,” she continued.
“His solicitor asked the judge to take into account the time he’s already served, seven years, but that man should never be allowed out, never.
“No mother should ever have to go through what I went though, finding Jean like that.”
Jean and Ann Marie said that they would be commemorating Jean’s birthday with the rest of the family, including her sons, aged 19, 17 and 15 and her 13-year-old daughter.
“She would have been 38, God love her,” Emma concluded.
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