Chilling note left behind by dad who stabbed wife and three sons in murder-suicide
POLICE believe Alan Hawe killed his three sons and wife before hanging himself at their home in Ireland on Sunday
A MAN who killed his wife and three sons in a murder-suicide left a note saying they could cope without him, it has been reported.
Police believe Alan Hawe killed his three sons and wife before hanging himself at their home in Ireland on Sunday.
Cops believe deputy principal Alan, 41, stabbed his wife Clodagh, 39, to death before killing Liam, 13, Niall, 11, and Ryan, 6, in their bedrooms.
According to The Irish Daily Star, the note was left at the home alongside another piece of paper telling visitors to call the gardai.
A source told the paper: "He wrote that he was taking the family with him because he did not think they would be able to cope without him."
It comes as Clodagh's mother Mary Coll was reported to have said she was "beyond heartbroken" - but she has forgiven her son-in-law for the crime.
Cops believe deputy principal Alan, 41, stabbed his wife Clodagh, 39, to death before killing Liam, 13, Niall, 11, and Ryan, 6, in their bedrooms.
Now a friend of Mary's has told the that she was "beyond heartbroken" - but she has forgiven him for the crime.
The friend said: "She said the man who did this to her daughter and her beautiful boys was not the Alan she knows and loves.
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"This person was a stranger, a total stranger and she knows if Alan had been in his right mind he would never, ever have touched a hair on the heads of those boys for her daughter."
It emerged yesterday that a cryptic text sent from Liam's phone was being probed by police for insights into the Hawe's family life.
Cops seized his phone to look into his bizarre last text message, which read: "From evil comes good."
The tormented father had left a note for his relatives, revealing he had been under pressure at work.
The sealed letter, which was written by the deputy principal of the Castlerahan National School outside Ballyjamesdugg in Co Cavan, was taken from the home.
Authorities also discovered other scribbled notes revealing the father was feeling pressure at work. He was due to return to school on Tuesday.
Police searching the home have found a hatchet, believed to have been used in the attack, with forensics also removing a number of knives.
It has previously been revealed that Hawe is thought to have left a note at the back door with the instruction: “Call the Gardai.”
He is then thought to have taken his own life.
Heartbreaking images emerged this week as several coffins were removed from the house and placed into a waiting convoy of hearses.
Locals who saw the family at a football match at nearby Castlerahan GAA club on Sunday afternoon said that there was no sign of the horror to come.
Alan, in his 40s, and the younger two children were due back at Castlerahan National School yesterday morning after the summer break.
His wife Clodagh, in her 30s, was a teacher at Oristown National School.
A source said: “Alan Hawe was well known in the area and was well respected because of his work in the school and also in GAA circles.”
In a press briefing at Ballyjamesduff Garda Station, Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll said two of the deceased were found in a downstairs room and three were found upstairs.
A Garda spokesman said: "The Garda investigation is ongoing but at this stage we are not looking for anyone else in relation to the deaths."
Shocked town councillor Paddy Smith said the whole town is still coming to terms with the tragic news.
He said: “It’s just complete shock. I only heard about it and rang a couple of people and everyone is shocked.
“If there is five people dead, it’s tragic, no matter what."
Mr Smith told Independent.ie: “It’s just hard to get your head around the whole thing."
At a press conference, Assistant Commissioner O'Driscoll said: "We believe all the answers are in that house.
"We are working along very definite lines of inquiry. One person in that house may have been responsible for the death of the others."
Police investigations are continuing.
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