'Sharon loved Christmas..but it has a different meaning for our family now' BROTHER OF MURDERED MUMTELLS OF THEIR GRIEF.Byline: EOIN EOIN End of Instruction REYNOLDS THE brother of murdered mum Sharon Whelan has revealed she was like an excitable excitable /ex·ci·ta·ble/ (ek-sit´ah-b'l) irritable (1). ex·cit·a·ble adj. 1. Capable of reacting to a stimulus. Used of a tissue, cell, or cell membrane. 2. child on Christmas Eve before killer Brian Hennessy struck. Heartbroken John Whelan described how a perfect Christmas turned to a nightmare at the hands of the twisted 23-year-old postman. He strangled 30-year-old Sharon to death in the early hours of Christmas Day last year and set fire to her house, killing her daughters Zsara, seven, and two-year-old Nadia. John said: "Sharon was like a child herself when it came to Christmas. "She had done so much for those kids. Christmas was such a special time for her and the two girls. She had been planning for months and had it down to every little detail. "The Christmas lights and decorations, everything had to be perfect. "On Christmas Eve she rang home three times just to say the girls were still awake and not to bring down the presents yet. "The second time was to say they're just asleep and to come down shortly. "The third time was to say bring down the presents, they're asleep now. Dad was so careful not to wake them that he parked a little bit away from the house so they wouldn't hear and Sharon would go out and take the presents off him in case the kids woke up. "Christmas was a special time but it's all changed now. Christmas has a different meaning for this family now." Within hours of grandfather Christy leaving the presents with Sharon at her home in Roscon, Co Kilkenny, a drunken Brian Hennessy arrived at her door. He had no concern about waking the kids on Christmas Eve, subjecting their mother to a terrifying ter·ri·fy tr.v. ter·ri·fied, ter·ri·fy·ing, ter·ri·fies 1. To fill with terror; make deeply afraid. See Synonyms at frighten. 2. To menace or threaten; intimidate. ordeal in which she suffered injuries to her face, legs and torso. He then strangled her to death to keep her from revealing what he had done and set fire to the house, knowing the children were helpless in the bedroom. John told RTE (1) See runtime engine. (2) (Real-Time Executive) The operating system used in the HP 1000 series. See HP 1000. Radio's Morning Ireland Morning Ireland is the breakfast news programme broadcast by RTÉ Radio 1 [1] each weekday morning between 7.00 and 9.00 (7.30 and 9.00 in high summer). Occasional weekend editions are also aired on the occasion of major breaking news stories such as general : "The worst nightmare has come true for this family. "A simple thing like a family gathering now feels like all the joy and excitement [we were] used to [is gone]..it's at times like that it's really driven home to us. "We know that Brian Hennessy will have a long time to realise and be haunted by what he has done. All we can hope for is that he serves every day of his sentence because God knows we will serve every day of ours." Hennessy was sentenced to three life sentences on Tuesday - with two of the terms to run consecutively, meaning he will spend around 30 years behind bars. CAPTION(S): VICTIM Sharon, 30 SISTERS Zsara and Nadia and, left, Hennessy PAIN Brother John Whelan at court earlier this week |
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