Jean Quigley was ten weeks pregant with a boy when she was murdered partner Stephen Cahoon
THE mother of a Derry woman murdered by her partner has backed calls by trade unions for the introduction of Clare’s law in the North.
The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) – commonly known as ‘Clare’s Law’ – allows people to find out if a partner has a history of violence.
Jean Quigley was murdered at her home in Cornshell Fields in 2008 by her evil partner Stephen Cahoon.
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) will debate the issue at its conference in the city later.
‘Clare’s Law’ was introduced in England, Wales and Scotland in March 2014 which allows victims or their friends and relatives to request the information so they know if there are grounds for concern.
The initiative is named after Clare Wood, who was murdered by her violent ex-boyfriend a number of years ago.
Emma McBride said her daughter Jean did not know Cahoon had a history of violence against women.
He was described by the PSNI as “a dangerous sexual predator with a history of violence towards women”.
“People would have been aware of who he is and what he was. People could have warned their children, warned their daughters,” Mrs McBride said.
“I remember asking at the time ‘Why was he not on an offenders list?’
“If we only had have known what he was like, if he had been on some kind of list, maybe my daughter would still be here today,” she said.
Emma McBride is convinced the law would have saved her daughters life.
“Jean loved her children and they came first, if she had known what he was like, there’s no way she would have put them in any danger.
“The way I found Jean, I wouldn’t like a mother to find what I found,” Emma said.
“It’s a terrible situation and a terrible stress, I miss her a lot.”
Clare Moore, Equality Officer with the ICTU, described the implementation of Clare’s Law in Northern Ireland as an important legislative move.
“This issue will be debated at the biennial policy setting conference of ICTU on Wednesday when delegates representing thousands of members will call for women in Northern Ireland to be afforded the same protection as granted to women in other parts of the UK,” she said.
Thug Stephen Cahoon, of Harvey Street, Derry, had denied murdering 30-year-old mother-of-four Jean Teresa Quigley but admitted her manslaughter.
But last December a jury at Dublin’s Central Criminal Court found Cahoon guilty of the murder at Cornshell Fields in Derry on July 26, 2008 by unanimous verdict.
The 43-year-old had previously been convicted of the murder in 2012, but that was quashed in March last year by the Court of Appeal in Dublin.
Cahoon had admitted strangling his Ms Quigley, who was 10 weeks pregnant with his child at the time of her death, but had denied it was murder.
The jury heard that Ms Quigley’s naked and bruised body was discovered at her home by her mother.
Evil Stephen Cahoon found guilty of murdering pregnant Jean Quigley who was rrying his child