No charges for ex-wife of dentist Colin Howell who murdered first wife and lover's husband

The ex-wife of dentist Colin Howell, who told police she kept his double murder secret for more than a decade, is not to be prosecuted.

Howell told Kyle Jorgensen, 47, how he gassed his first wife, Lesley, and his then lover’s husband before persuading her not to inform the authorities for the sake of their children.

She has been under police investigation since Howell's arrest in January 2009.

He first admitted the 1991 murders to her at the couple's home outside Castlerock, Co Derry, in the summer of 1998. He was on the verge of handing himself over to the police, but they eventually agreed to stay quiet.

It was Ms Jorgensen however who eventually forced him to confess everything to detectives after Howell was swindled out of all his money, including the family's life savings.

The Public Prosecution Service in Belfast confirmed today she would be facing no charges.

A spokesperson said: "The decision was taken not to prosecute in this case because there was insufficient evidence to provide a reasonable prospect of conviction."

She returned to Florida with their five children and filed for divorce when Howell was jailed for 21 years for murdering Lesley and Constable Trevor Buchanan in May 1991 when he staged managed the deaths to make it look like a suicide pact.

PA