Mother: My girls would be alive today

The mother of two girls killed by their father says she believes her daughters would still be alive if medical professionals had involved her in his treatment.

John Butler, who suffered from depression, killed his daughters Zoe, 6, and Ella, 2, at the family home in Ballycotton in Co Cork on Nov 16, 2010, before taking his own life.

Una Butler yesterday said she had urged medical professionals to admit her husband to hospital for treatment for depression when she had concerns about him being suicidal after he went missing in 2009. However, she said her pleas were ignored and she was told it was her husband’s choice to admit himself to a hospital.