The coroner presiding over the inquest into Concepta Leonard's death has ruled she was murdered by her former partner, Paedar Phair, after he repeatedly stabbed her.
Members of her family were present for the ruling this morning, as they had been, throughout every day the hearing sat at Laganside Courthouse in Belfast.
55-year-old Phair killed Concepta in her Maguiresbridge home on the 15th of May 2017, in front of her son Conor Gallagher, who has Down's Syndrome and bravely fought for his mother before being stabbed himself.
Despite being injured and severely traumatised, Conor still managed to the raise the alarm. Concepta died from multiple stab wounds to her chest and abdomen, and there was evidence of defensive cuts to her hands including potential attempts to grab the blade.
Phair was later found in the garage of the property having taken his own life. The inquest heard in the months before hand, Concepta ended the relationship with Phair who, according to witnesses, had steadily isolated her from family and friends, in what had become a controlling, domestic abuse situation.
She obtained an emergency Non-Molestation Order but Phair breached this several times and the police handling of these incidents were heavily criticised by her family.
Due to fears for herself and Conor, Women's Aid had fitted an alarm in their home, which was activated only once - on the day of the incident. The call handler heard a male voice challenge Concepta for "taking him to court" and he was not going back to prison.
Phair was also heard saying "all three are going out together" meaning himself, Concepta and Conor. The inquest heard, Concepta was found dead in her bedroom, and that while conducting checks throughout the rest of the property, police located Phair in the garage.
During this morning's proceedings, the coroner ruled death by stab wounds to the chest and abdomen. She noted Phair used silent calls and other methods to continue to contact Concepta despite legal sanctions being in place, however she stressed this was in the context of hindsight. The coroner concluded that all agencies involved may wish to reflect on the matter in dealing with victims of domestic violence.
