: David French
: For Valerie The story of my sister 's death at the hands of her husband and its devastating aftermath
: Gill Books
: 9781804583302
: 1
: CHF 15.10
:
: Krimis, Thriller, Spionage
: English
: 352
: Wasserzeichen
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB
In June 2019, Valerie French Kilroy was brutally murdered by her husband at their home near Westport, while her three young sons lay in bed. For her brother David and the rest of her family, it was the beginning of a battle against a system unprepared to protect the three innocent children whose father remains their legal guardian, despite being convicted of their mother's murder. From the devastating shock of hearing of his sister's death to the multiple criminal trials before the guilty verdict was delivered, David describes the issues his family faced in the aftermath of Valerie's murder. He provides a deeply personal insight into Valerie's marriage and the hidden struggles she faced in the run-up to her murder. This book is both a heartfelt tribute to Valerie's life and legacy and an urgent call to rethink the way our society responds to domestic homicide.

David French is the brother of Valerie French, who was murdered by her husband in 2019. He is the eldest of five, and along with his other three sisters, he has been drawn into the complex aftermath of the killing. David grew up on the family farm in West Cork in the 1970s, attended UCC and has worked in IT in Ireland and abroad. He lives in Wicklow and is a keen motorcyclist. This is his second book. The first is titled Mefloquine Dream.

Preface


Murder is unique in that it abolishes the party it injures, so that society has to take the place of the victim and on his behalf demand atonement or grant forgiveness; it is the one crime in which society has a direct interest.

W.H. Auden

This book describes the context and aftermath of my sister Valerie’s murder in 2019. It contains my personal impressions, opinions and observations as someone drawn into this horrific space. In many places I have used quotes from other people affected by domestic homicide – Mary Coll, Frank Mullane, Luke and Ryan Hart, Amani Haydar and others. Their words emphasise the fact that Valerie’s murder was not a one-off incident, but rather part of a much larger and very obvious pattern.

Unless otherwise stated, opinions throughout are my own. None of these opinions are professional as I have no qualification in psychology, psychiatry, law or criminology.

I am not sharing any information that is not already known. Even now, after the murder trial, I am massively constrained in what I can say due to considerations of privacy, ongoing legal actions and the threat of litigation by Kilroy and even the state. Much of what has happened since the murder has been omitted; I have a lot to say that cannot be published at this time.

In most cases the people mentioned in these pages were acting with good intent and doing the best they could within the limitations of their abilities, training and the scope of their roles. Where people’s actions – or the actions of their organisations – are criticised as lacking, the hope is that they will use it to learn.

Anybody who claims that someone murdering their partner is ‘unprecedented’ is clearly missing the point. My sister’s murder had numerous precedents. In fact, she was the third Irish woman whose partner was charged with their murder in this country in the first six months of 2019, and there was nothing special about that year. Silencing the victim is the aim of murder. This book is an attempt to give voice to Valerie’s perspective and the perspective of her family and to put on record some part of her story. Books like this one also help to minimise recurrences of this type of crime and that is very clearly in the public interest.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee made a statement on combating domestic, sexual and gender-based violence in November 2020. The government aims at that time were to increase the awareness of domestic and sexual violence, bring about a change in long-established societal behaviours and attitudes and activate bystanders to decrease and prevent this violence. This book adds the perspective of lived experience to that. To quote Ida B. Wells-Barnett, one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (or NAACP), ‘The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.’

Society needs to be more aware of the risk factors and not treat the killings of women as one-offs. There