A MAN and his former lover, who are accused of murdering their spouses almost 19 years ago, have been sent for trial.
Colin Howell (51), a dentist, and Hazel Stewart (47), who stood in the dock for a preliminary inquiry at north Antrim Magistrates Court in Coleraine, were told they had a case to answer by deputy District Judge Jim McFarland.
They are due to appear again at Antrim Crown Court on May 11th, but it is expected to be later this year – probably not before September – before the trial goes ahead.
Mr Howell and Ms Stewart, a mother of two, are charged again with murdering his wife Lesley (31) and Ms Stewart’s husband, Const Trevor Buchanan (31), in May 1991.
Their bodies were found in a car filled with exhaust fumes at a garage behind a row of houses known as The Apostles in Castlerock, Co Derry.
Both replied “No” when they were asked if they had anything to say in reply to the charges or if they wanted to call witnesses.
It was the second time they had been in the dock together since they were first charged in January last year, when police reopened their investigation into the deaths, which at the time were thought to have been suicides. Ms Howell was the mother of four young children, one of them just months old.
Ms Stewart – she later remarried – from Ballystrone Road, Coleraine, stood with her hands clasped when the charges were put to her again yesterday.
With a prison officer in between, Mr Howell stood to her left, with his hands behind his back
Relatives of Const Buchanan were in the public gallery.
Ms Stewart’s husband, former police chief superintendent David Stewart, stood by the exit door.
Mr Howell, who once ran his dental implant clinic in Ballymoney, Co Antrim, has been in custody since his arrest and he was sent back to Maghaberry Prison, near Lisburn.
Ms Stewart was granted continuing bail but she must report daily to police in Coleraine. She has already handed over her passport.
Mr Howell is also facing separate charges of drugging and indecently assaulting four of his women patients over a 10-year period up until December 2008.
A preliminary inquiry is due to go head in Coleraine on May 10th. – (PA)