THE younger brother of Cowra’s accused triple-murderer, John
Walsh, has been jailed for life for murdering his partner and her child.
Britain’s Aberdeen
Press & Journal reports today (Tuesday) that 65-year-old James Conan
was sentenced last Monday for the August 2007 murders of Kirsty O’Connell, 21,
and her four-year-old son, Patrick, at their flat in Winchester, Hampshire.
John Walsh, 69, is alleged to have killed his 52-year-old
Aberdeen-born wife, his seven-year-old grandson and five-year-old granddaughter
at Cowra in June last year.
He is also charged with the attempted murder of his daughter,
police officer Shelly Walsh.
Walsh appeared in Wagga
Wagga Local Court via audio-visual link from Long
Bay Prison on January 21 – just days after his brother was sentenced to life.
The Aberdeen Press & Journal reports that Walsh is accused of
hacking his wife to death with an axe and drowning his two grandchildren in a
bath.
“Following their deaths Mrs Walsh’s sister, Christina
Boswell, who still lives in Aberdeen, revealed her brother-in-law had been
diagnosed with a brain tumour and did not have long to live,” the newspaper
says.
Walsh was arrested at a motel at Hay about six hours after
the discovery of the bodies on June 30 last year.
He faces a life in prison if found guilty.
Meanwhile, police are investigating the cause
of fire that on Friday destroyed a caravan in the back yard of the Brougham St house
where the murders were allegedly committed.
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