Killer told net girlfriend his fiancée had died in crash

THE woman who had an intense internet relationship with Colin Whelan has revealed the killer claimed he was single and that his fiancée had died in a car crash.

Whelan, jailed for life this week after pleading guilty to murdering his wife Mary, sent Helen Sheppard more than 60 e-mails in just two months, including one the day before he strangled his 27-year-old wife at their north Dublin home.

Ms Sheppard, a 38-year-old mother of one from Wales, said she was afraid for her own life after Whelan disappeared, as she feared he was going to land on her doorstep.