Family angry as sentence cut for triple murderer

THE family of a woman murdered along with her two children by a vicious rapist has expressed horror at the Court of Appeal’s decision to reduce the time in jail the killer will serve for his crimes.

John Whelan, brother of Sharon Whelan, 30, who was raped and strangled by Brian Hennessy at her home in Windgap, Co Kilkenny, early on Christmas Day, 2008, said he could not believe the decision.

Hennessy, aged 24, a postman and neighbour of Sharon Whelan, was convicted in 2009 of murdering the single mother and her two children, Zarah, 7, and Nadia, 2.