Northern Ireland

Colin Howell: Second wife moved to Florida to free family from his legacy

Kyle Jorgensen, who formally filed for divorce when Colin Howell was jailed, settled in Florida
Kyle Jorgensen, who formally filed for divorce when Colin Howell was jailed, settled in Florida Kyle Jorgensen, who formally filed for divorce when Colin Howell was jailed, settled in Florida

IT was the place where Colin Howell planned to spend his retirement with his wife and their children.

Instead, now reverted to her maiden name, Kyle Jorgensen is living in Florida with her children, having fled the ruins of her life in Castlerock after her husband was charged with the May 1991 double murder of Lesley Howell and Trevor Buchanan.

Howell was declared bankrupt in 2011 over his tax debt, their home sold for below its £300,000 asking price with the proceeds swallowed up by creditors.

He also lost his NHS pension of nearly £590,000 after sexual assault convictions.

Howell is reported to have been "distressed" Kyle did not support him after encouraging him to confess, expecting she would bring the children to see him and "maintain some kind of contact".

Kyle Jorgensen, who formally filed for divorce when Howell was jailed, settled in the Fort Myers area of Florida.

Under police investigation herself from Howell's arrest in January 2009, the PPS announced in 2013 that it would not bring charges.

It emerged Howell had refused to testify against his ex-wife, telling friends: "If it wasn't for her I might not have had the courage to go through with all of this."

She described the children as "my number one priority, everything I do, I do for them", saying that while "the healing still goes on... now I sleep very well at night".

Read more:

  • How the murderer's 18 years of deceit, prevarication and depraved self-justification finally ended
  • `A devious plan pre-meditated in a manner that might be described as professional'