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Family hears for first time their mother's killer was 'truly sorry' for shooting her dead

&nbsp;<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; ">Fred McClenaghan</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; ">&nbsp;murdered Marion Millican</span>
 Fred McClenaghan murdered Marion Millican  Fred McClenaghan murdered Marion Millican

THE family of murdered Marion Millican heard for the first time yesterday that her killer was "truly sorry'' for killing her more than six years ago.

Mrs Millican, a mother of four, was shot dead in the Portstewart launderette where she worked in March 2011 by her former partner.

In September Fred McClenaghan (55), of Broad Street, Magherafelt, Co Derry pleaded guilty to shooting her dead with a 100-year-old shotgun on the third day of a new trial.

He had previously been found guilty at two separate jury trials in Antrim and Belfast of her murder but both convictions were later overturned in the Court of Appeal.

McClenaghan had pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility claiming he had gone to the launderette to speak to Mrs Millican and his plan was to kill himself.

But he claimed that when an argument broke out between them, Mrs Millican grabbed the weapon and the gun went off in a struggle.

However, the manslaughter plea and his version of events were rejected by the prosecution who said the killing was no accident, but "murder, pure and simple''.

After his guilty plea to murder, McClenaghan was handed an automatic life sentence.

Yesterday a tariff hearing was held to determine how long he would spend in prison before he would eligible to apply for parole.

Senior prosecution counsel Richard Weir QC told Mr Justice Adrian Colton that Mrs Millican's family had gone through "each of the trials and the appeals and now finality has been brought about by the accused's plea of guilty''.

Mr Justice Colton heard that McClenaghan a criminal record for violence including convictions for common assault, robbery and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The senior prosecutor said that there had been a history of violence by McClenaghan towards Mrs Millican during their relationship.

Defence counsel John McCrudden said that Mrs Millican was a "completely innocent and an entirely undeserving victim of what befell her in the launderette''.

"The accused is remorseful in that context. From the day of the shooting he said he was sorry. He told a constable at the scene: 'It should have been me lying there'. At police interview, in a written statement, he said he was 'truly sorry'.

"He wanted to a write a letter to the family to apologise for what he had done but he was advised against that by a probation officer. He has expressed his complete remorse for what happened.''

Mr McCrudden said that McClenaghan had an "arguable and contestable case given his rapid depressive disorder and has always been prepared to plead guilty to manslaughter''.

The judge heard the defendant had written a letter to Mrs Millican, which she never got to read, detailing his "tormented mind" and distress at dealing with past sexual abuse in his childhood by a policeman.

The court heard that because of his depressive disorder, crisis mental health professionals feared McClenaghan was "actively suicidal'' from December 2010 and in the days leading up to the murder in March, 2011.

Following the murder, the Police Ombudsman's office carried out an investigation into police actions in the case and had found a number of "missed opportunities''. Three PSNI officers were disciplined as a result of the inquiry.

McClenaghan will be sentenced next week.