Derry man again found guilty of murder

Derry man Stephen Cahoon has been found guilty — for the second time after three trials over six years — of murdering Jean Teresa Quigley, a pregnant mother of four.

Cahoon, aged 43, with a last address at Harvey St in the city, admitted strangling his ex-girlfriend Ms Quigley, aged 30, who was 10 weeks pregnant with his child, but had denied it was murder.

The jury heard that Ms Quigley’s naked and bruised body was found at her home by her mother.

A Central Criminal Court jury yesterday found Cahoon guilty by unanimous verdict of murdering Ms Quigley at Cornshell fields in Derry on July 26, 2008. They had deliberated for three hours and 43 minutes.

Ms Justice Deirdre Murphy thanked the jury for their service, saying they struck her “as a very engaged and conscientious jury”. Each member was exempted from jury service for ten years.

The judge expressed her sympathy to the family of Ms Quigley. “Sometimes the court process must look very cold to a family, but justice has to be done in that way. The loss of a young woman with four children is tragic and to die in these awful circumstances is particularly horrific,” she said.

Ms Justice Murphy said that to hear the “accused man” trying to blame Ms Quigley for what happened must have been “difficult for her family” during the trial.

She thanked the family of the deceased “for its restraint” during the trial.

“Clearly you’re a close family and all look after each other and I hope you will continue to do that,” concluded the judge.

Ms Justice Murphy then sentenced Cahoon to life imprisonment and backdated it to the date of his arrest on August 5, 2008.

Patricia McLaughlin, prosecuting, yesterday read a victim impact statement to the court on behalf of Ms Quigley’s family.

The court heard she was the youngest of five children and grew up “protected and loved” by her brothers and sister.

“Once the family settled in Northern Ireland, Jean grew up into a fun-loving, caring young girl. She established lifelong friendships, giving her an extended family that loved her just as much as her relations did,” read Ms McLaughlin.

The court heard she was 18 when her first son, Dylan, was born with a number of medical conditions that threatened his life.

Dylan is now 19 and continues to require treatment but no longer had his mother’s “reassurance that he will be OK”.

“He lives with his granny who loves him and sees he has all he needs but this is no replacement for a loving mother,” read the barrister.