A brother of murder victim Jennifer Poole has told how her young children live in fear of the day their mother’s killer is released.
Mother-of-two Jennifer Poole, 24, was brutally stabbed to death by her ex Gavin Murphy at her home in Melville Drive, Finglas, West Dublin, on April 17 last year.
Last Friday Murphy, 30, of Coultry Drive, Ballymun, was jailed for life after pleading guilty to the horrific crime.
Read more: Man described as ‘worst of humanity’ jailed for life for Jennifer Poole murder
Jennifer’s heartbroken brother Jason told of the harrowing impact the murder has had on his sister’s young children.
“Her children are only eight and five. When he comes up for parole how old will they be? 17? 18?” he said.
“They live in fear of their lives because they saw what happened to their mammy on a regular basis and they’re fearful of what could happen to them.
“You know, ‘is Gavin going to come after me’? That’s how they feel and how they have felt since the day Jennifer died.”
Jason, who is now calling for a meeting with Justice Minister Helen McEntee to bring about better anti-domestic violence legislation, told how the family have had to care for Jennifer’s children through this traumatic time.
“They are the questions we have to live with every day when they’re afraid to go up the stairs and we have to go with them,” he added. “They fear him getting out and coming back.
“Her daughter’s Communion is in two weeks’ time and she should be there with her.
“She should be there going out and buying her Communion dress with her and organising her party and pictures.
“But she’s not. Instead, she’ll be down getting a picture at her mammy’s grave.
“And he thinks a little apology in court justifies why he did it.
“Empty words. That’s all they were.”
Jason said the family now brings Jennifer’s children to the grave almost every week, and have tried to explain to them that their mother isn’t coming back.
He added this is just one of many devastating lifelong consequences of Murphy’s actions — while he can one day walk free.
“He can apply for his parole and he could get out in 12 or 13 or 20 years,” he added.
“But the people who are suffering here are us, her family and her children, because we have been given the life sentence.
“We’re the ones that have to go to her grave every week with her children and explain to them why their mammy is not coming back. He doesn’t have to do that.
“He can walk out of prison in 19, 20 years and be given the bees knees of everything and given his accommodation.
“He can move on with his life while our lives have been torn apart.”
Jason and the Poole family are now calling for Minister McEntee to enact a law similar to Clare’s Law in the UK that would see a register drawn up of violent abusers.
It comes after the family learned for the first time that Murphy had previously been jailed for attacking a former partner and her mother with a knife in 2015.
Jason believes the creation of a domestic violence register — similar to the sex offenders register — could prevent future murders like that of his sister.
“I do believe unless we bring in proper legislation now the justice system is going to let everybody else down,” he added.
“It’s been highlighted now, people are saying there’s a need for it, so if the justice system doesn’t take this on board they will fail everyone after Jennifer.
“It was too late for Jennifer. That’s why we as a family are pushing for this, so that somebody else doesn’t have to go through what we’re going through or what Jennifer went through.”
Pleading directly to her he said: “Helen McEntee has done great work, but there’s an elephant in the room that needs to be addressed and it is this issue of domestic violence in our country.
Read more: Jennie Poole remembered as 'mother like no other' and devoted to her kids
“I would love to have the opportunity to sit with her and see if there’s an opportunity for something to be done.”
Jason says if a register was available victims could potentially walk into a garda station and request information to see if their partner has prior history of the same.
He says such a move would be a game changer — given Jennifer did not know of Murphy’s violent past — and believed he was in Spain when in fact he was in jail for the previous attack.
“If Jennifer had known what we found out in court the other day, she would’ve been able to walk into Finglas Garda Station and say I’m after being battered by my boyfriend eight or 10 times and what’s the story here?” Jason added.
“She was led to believe that he had come home from Spain. “They ended up together in a relationship for just over a year.
“I would call on Helen McEntee to come and meet me and my family and listen to what we have to say, because there’s so much that can be done.
“There’s 266 women who have died in Ireland — all through either their partners or their ex-partners. That’s 266 too many.”
Jason believes if the legislation had existed, coupled with harsher sentences for those convicted of domestic violence and knife crime, that his sister would potentially still be alive.
“Gavin Murphy shouldn’t even have been on the streets,” he added.
Read more: 'Jennie Poole was a doting mother tragically killed in the summer of her life'
“He had a serious conviction in relation to knife crime with his previous partner. Him and Jennifer wouldn’t have met if he’d done the time he was given.”
Paying tribute to his sister, Jason described Jennifer as the life and soul — a happy, caring and bubbly person.
“She was involved in the community and gave her time to everybody.”
Last night a spokesperson for Minister McEntee told The Star she will “of course” meet with Jennifer’s family.
“The Minister sympathises with the Poole family on their loss of Jennifer in truly awful circumstances and admires the dignity and strength they have shown,” they said.
“As well as remembering Jennifer, they have also thought of other victims and urged anyone suffering from domestic abuse to seek help.
“The Minister will of course meet with Jennifer’s family.”
Read more: Brother of tragic Jennie Poole pays emotional tribute to sister with 'a heart of gold'
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