Wife gives birth hours after husband is killed in machete attack

A woman gave birth today just hours after her husband was murdered in a machete attack as he lay in bed beside her.

Mrs Julia Mongan, 28, had a baby boy in a hospital not far from where her husband John, 30, was bludgeoned.

A gang kicked in the front door of their terraced home just after 2am, and then in front of their two young sons, started attacking Mr Mongan who died with wounds to the side of his body.

Police believe the attack was linked to an escalating feud between two Traveller families. Last year a member of the rival family from London was wounded when gunmen opened fire at a bar on the outskirts of Belfast.

Two men later detained in Derry were questioned tonight about the murder at the house in Fallswater Street, close to the Royal Victoria Hospital where Mrs Mongan gave birth in a maternity ward. She was hit in the head during the attack.

Family friend Derek Hanway said: “The poor woman is absolutely devastated. Can you believe it? Watching her husband being murdered and then a couple of hours later having a child. It’s just horrific.”

Police fear the feud could worsen and tonight appealed for calm. It is understood a clash between two teenagers inside a young offenders centre in Belfast on Wednesday was also linked to the fall out.

At least four men burst into the couple’s home and before driving off in smashed-up Mr Mongan’s jeep parked outside. None of the murder weapons have been found.

Mrs Mongan’s head injury is not believed to be serious, but she was left deeply traumatised, according to Mr Hanway, director of Murnia Tober Traveller Centre, a support group.

He said: “The birth was overdue, and she was due to keep an appointment at the hospital today anyway. It was the viciousness of this attack – the viciousness - which has really stunned people. Nobody should die like this. We are all horrified and appalled.

“Good, decent members of the travelling community just can’t believe it and would disown the sort of people involved. They are absolute animals.

“The community is just in a state of shock. Nobody can say what the motive is for this, but for a woman to see her husband murdered in such an awful fashion, and then having to through the ordeal of having a baby just hours later...”

Neighbours of the family believe a shooting at a pub in the greater Belfast area about nine months ago was connected to the feud. One man needed hospital treatment for injuries to his leg.

The men being questioned tonight were detained 75 miles away in Derry. One is aged 32 and the other 37.