Overview

• The Court of Appeal in Belfast refused Stewart leave to appeal her sentence on June 25, 2025.
• She had sought a reduction based on psychiatric reports claiming she suffered depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and coercive control by ex-lover Colin Howell at the time of the murders.
• Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan ruled the fresh evidence was presented too late and contradicted earlier expert assessments.
• The court noted the original sentencing judge had already taken Howell’s influence into account when imposing the minimum 18-year sentence.
• Stewart was convicted in 2011 after Howell confessed nearly two decades after the killings and implicated her in the drugging and murder of Constable Trevor Buchanan and Lesley Howell.