Murder victim Jennifer Poole’s brother Jason has called for new laws allowing gardai to disclose someone’s history of domestic violence.
He says he hopes it would mean “other families don’t have to go through what we are going through”.
Mum-of-two Jennifer, 24, was fatally assaulted by her violent partner Gavin Murphy at her home in Melville Drive in Dublin’s Finglas on April 17 last year.
Read more: Brother of murder victim Jennifer Poole says her children are living 'in fear for their lives'
Evil Murphy, 30, was given the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment at the Central Criminal Court in April.
Murphy, of Coultry Drive in Ballymun, North Dublin, had a previous conviction for assaulting another partner and her mother, where he produced a knife. He kept his past hidden from Jennifer.
The young mum had believed Murphy had just returned from Spain, when in fact he had been in jail.
Read more: Brother of murder victim Jennifer Poole says he is 'haunted' every night by her death
Jennifer’s brother Jason told the Irish Mirror: “A Domestic Violence Register needs to be in place 100%.”
He was speaking yesterday at the launch of a new Fianna Fail policy paper on aggression against women by Justice spokesperson Jim O’Callaghan outside Dail Eireann.
The policy paper calls for the establishment of a Domestic Violence Register – similar to the Sex Offenders Register – that would make available information about anyone who has a conviction for domestic violence.
Read more: Man described as ‘worst of humanity’ jailed for life for Jennifer Poole murder
Jason said: “If the register was in place Jennifer could have been informed and had the opportunity to leave had she known what his previous was. She didn’t have that choice because she wasn’t aware.”
He said keeping Jennifer’s memory and legacy alive by campaigning for such a register is “what gets me up every day”.
Jason told the Irish Mirror: “I want to make sure that victims [of domestic violence] don’t have to go through what Jennifer went through.
Read more: Brother of tragic Jennie Poole pays emotional tribute to sister with 'a heart of gold'
“We will fight to ensure what we have in this document will be enacted.”
Jason said as part of the policy they would like to see “stronger sentencing powers” for perpetrators. Jennifer had two children – who were aged four and seven at the time of her killing – and Jason fears the day Murphy is released from prison as there is a chance the children will meet him again “on the streets”.
He said: “He will get out eventually. And that’s our fear for the children because life isn’t life in this country unfortunately.
Read more: Jennie Poole remembered as 'mother like no other' and devoted to her kids
“We are hoping that sentences for serious offences like this will be much longer.
“But even if a perpetrator got 30 years, it’s still never going to bring the victim back but at least the person who has done the crime gets a proper sentence.”
Jason also told how his whole family has been affected by Jennifer’s horrific killing – especially her two kids.
Read more: Finglas community to line streets as funeral details for tragic young mum Jennie Poole announced
He said: “Jennifer’s children ask the same questions that we ask every day: ‘What happened, why can’t she come back, what’s she eating now, when is she coming up out of the grass’.”
He told how, 14 months on from Jennifer’s horror killing, he and his family “struggle from day to day”.
He said: “It’s only been a little over a year and the children are still traumatised and wake up some mornings expecting to see their mam – just as we do.”
Meanwhile,Deputy O’Callaghan urged Justice Minister Helen McEntee to adopt the new register but said it should only be visible to law enforcement personnel.
He added: “We think there should be a domestic violence register where people who are convicted of an offence will be listed.
“But I don’t think it would be feasible to have a publicly available register that anyone could look into.
“But certainly I think somebody who may have been affected by it, and it was a new relationship, should have an entitlement to know.”
“He will probably get out of prison in 14 to 16 years time. Our fear is that some day the children will remember what happened to their mammy and remember who did it and there is a chance they will meet each other again on the streets.”
“So we have to deal with those on a daily basis. But they are getting the support they need and they do miss her and they talk about her every day,”
He said his family aim “to make sure Jennifer’s name and legacy never fades so that her children will always remember her.”
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