After our Nichola was murdered we became living dead; EXCLUSIVE: PARENTS DEMAND LIFE FOR DAUGHTER'S KILLER.

Byline: ANN MOONEY

HUNDREDS of Mirror readers are backing our campaign for mandatory 25-year jail terms for convicted murderers.

Yesterday broadcaster Gerry Ryan said our cause was close to his heart and added that he was right behind us in trying to keep killers caged for life.

On the second day of our campaign heartbroken John Sweeney tells Ann Mooney how their lives were destroyed by evil Peter Whelan who stabbed their daughter Nichola to death.

John and his wife Josephine back our campaign and are determined to make sure that the man who took their girl's life will never be freed.

THE knife maniac who hunted Nichola Sweeney to a brutal death in her own home will never know freedom again, her parents have pledged.

John and Josephine Sweeney have joined the Irish Mirror's campaign to ensure that life sentences are exactly that.

And they said even if it takes an Act of Parliament they demand that Peter Whelan will be kept behind bars for life.

Twisted killer Whelan, a neighbour of the Sweeney's in Rochestown, Cork, murdered 20-year-old Nichola and stabbed her friend Sinead O'Leary in the Sweeney's home on April 27, last year.

The 19-year-old broke into the home and attacked Nichola and Sinead as they watched TV. First he stabbed Sinead and then went after Nichola as she tried hide in a bathroom.

Whelan killed her as she tried to escape through a window.

He did not know either of the girls and he did not know who was in the house at the time he broke in.

After killing Nichola he returned to his own home where he changed his blood-stained clothing and went out to join family members as ambulances and emergency services arrived at Underwood House.

Believing both girls were dead he walked on to the street outside the house where gardai recognised him from the description given by Sinead.

He was arrested and as he was being put into the Garda car he said he was, "sorry I had not done more".

John and Josephine rushed back from London, where they own several public houses, after gardai informed them of the horrific murder.

Today, the couple are adamant that Whelan should remain in jail for the rest of his life.

They have set up the Nichola Sweeney Foundation, which aims to change the law to give true meaning to a life sentence.

They also want to secure acceptable justice for the families and friends of murder victims, so they can have a say at any parole hearings for convicted murderers.

John said: "Whelan is pure evil. He did not know my daughter or her friend. He was determined to kill someone that night.

"We have to deal with two things, the fact that our lovely daughter was taken from us in such horrendous circumstances and the fact her killer will be released at some time and will be walking the streets after doing such a terrible thing unless we address this right now.

"Killers like Whelan are evil. They know what they are doing and they kill people to satisfy their lust. In a few years' time he will go before a parole board to convince them to give him a second chance.

"I believe if he is ever released he will pose a similar threat to some other poor family like he did to ours.

"Families of victims have absolutely no input when a parole board hearing takes place and killers can often have served only seven years before getting a hearing.

"The reality is that the crime is often as real or more real for the loved ones left behind as the years only bring longing, heartache and despair.

"Birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, family occasions, even a phrase or a song ensure the pain is ever present.

"Murderers leave a legacy of torment . They consign families to a living nightmare for the rest of their lives.

"The victim is not the only one murdered. The family is also murdered, in many ways they are the living dead. The torment is magnified when the shock of a life sentence turns out to be no more than 12 years.

"What usually happens is that with the passage of time people in authority deciding on early release are undoubtedly tempered towards the nature of the crime.

"The perpetrator using tactics of self- interest conforms and shows remorse insisting they will not offend again."

After Nichola's death, John said the family did think that perhaps Whelan was mentally disturbed.

But as the days went on they started to hear about his background and his previous history of violence in the community.

John said: "When I said to one of the locals that he probably went mad and killed our lovely daughter, she asked me if I believed in evil.

"She told us our daughter was killed by an evil psychopath and not to confuse him with a mentally disturbed person. And the more we looked into it the more we realised he is a psychopath.

"He has never once said sorry for what he did. What he has done to us is unimaginable.

"Our lives as we knew them are finished. Our two sons are also suffering and my wife will never recover.

"If we had lost her in a car accident or to a terrible disease that would have been dreadful, but for her to die the way she did at the hands of this psychopath leaves us totally distraught and we will never be able to come to terms with it.

"We are all suffering a life sentence because of Whelan. Our mission in life now is to ensure that he will never be released from prison."

To find out about the Nichola Sweeney Foundation write to Nichola Sweeney Foundation, P.O. Box 63, Togher, Cork, or visit www.nicholasweeneyfoundation.org.

CAPTION(S):

VOW: Josephine and John Sweeney; VICTIM; Nichola Sweeney, 20, pictured at her Debs Ball; KILLER; Peter Whelan who was jailed for life for murder