THE brother of a West Cork mother-of-three who was murdered by her husband has reiterated a call for legislation to remove a person’s guardianship rights if they kill their partner.
Leap native Valerie French was murdered by her husband James Kilroy in June 2019 at their home in Kilbree in Co Mayo.
Speaking on RTÉ1’s Upfront with Katie Hannon on Monday night, David French said Mr Kilroy remains a guardian to Valerie’s three children, despite his murder conviction.
‘Basically, he’s included in the same way as any other guardian who is in prison would be. While he can’t have custody of my nephews as he is in prison, he is informed of their situation, where they are living, how they are getting on, their health, and he’s involved in any major decisions in their life and he has to be consulted if they go abroad,’ said David.
‘He is just like a regular guardian, the murder conviction has no effect on his guardianship and he’s a guardian like I am to my kids. This should absolutely be changed,’ he said, adding: ‘The bottom line is killing a mother is child abuse and if you’re killing the mother of your kids, you have just abused those children.’
David has called for a law to remove guardianship rights from a person who kills someone.
‘This is a simple piece of legislation and a no-brainer. It’s straightforward and just get it done.’
James Kilroy was found guilty of murder and sentenced to the mandatory term of life imprisonment.
The prosecution of Mr Kilroy was delayed twice due to unforeseen circumstances before he was found guilty in July 2024.
