G DISTRICT – Conviction – Murder of Jean Quigley, July 2008
30 Apr 2012
Following the conviction of Stephen Cahoon at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin for the murder of Jean Quigley in Derry in 2008 PSNI have issued the following statement.Police welcome the conviction of Stephen Cahoon for the murder of Jean Quigley. Hopefully it will bring a small measure of comfort to her family after all they have suffered.
Jean Quigley was a bright and bubbly 30-year-old mother of four who was expecting her fifth child when she was brutally murdered by Stephen Cahoon in her home at Cornshell Fields in the Shantallow area of Derry on 26 July 2008.
She suffered a horrendous death at Cahoon’s hands after she told him she wanted to end their brief relationship. Cahoon has brutally taken Jean Quigley’s life and robbed her four young children of a loving mother. He fled across the border and was arrested by An Garda Siochana in Donegal town on 5 August 2008.
This was a murder which shocked detectives from Serious Crime Branch and stunned the community. Police would like to thank local people who came forward with information. In particular, they would like to acknowledge the assistance provided by taxi drivers who were able to help piece together Jean’s last known movements after she left a pizza shop on the Racecourse Road the night before she was murdered.
They would also like to thank the wider community in Derry for their assistance during this investigation and to acknowledge the co-operation of people across the border in Donegal who gave information to An Garda Siochana which contributed to Stephen Cahoon’s arrest and conviction.
This case made legal history on the island of Ireland. It was the first time a defendant was tried in the Republic under the Criminal Justice Jurisdiction Act 1976 for a non-terrorist crime committed in Northern Ireland. It shows how the law can be used to bring to justice those individuals who commit the most serious crimes, no matter where.
Stephen Cahoon is one such individual. He is a dangerous sexual predator with a history of violence against women. He deserves to stay behind bars for a very long time.
But our thoughts today should be with Jean Quigley’s children and her family circle. We hope that, in time, today’s outcome will go some small way to bring comfort to them for the loss and pain which they have suffered.
