Sister of Arlene Arkinson calls for public inquiry

Kathleen Arkinson was speaking after the conclusion of the Inquest of her 15-year-old sister, who vanished after a night out in Bundoran in August 1994 and whose body has never been found.

Convicted child killer Robert Lesarian Howard was ruled to be responsible for the teenager’s death by Coroner Brian Sherrard in his conclusions delivered on Wednesday in Omagh.

Howard was charged with Arlene’s murder back in 2002, but acquitted three years later in 2005. The jury at the time was not aware of his previous conviction.

He died in prison in England seven years ago at the age of 71 while serving a life sentence for the rape and murder of London teenager Hannah Williams.

The Coroner ruled that the killer and ‘violent sexual offender’ was responsible for Arlene’s death and said he believed the body of the Castlederg teenager was still in the jurisdiction.

In a lengthy judgement the Coroner outlined the details of Arlene Arkinson’s disappearance after she left her sister’s home to go to Bundoran with a friend and her boyfriend, as well as Robert Howard on the night of August 13, 1994.

They returned to Castlederg at around 2.30am and Howard who was driving dropped the friend and her boyfriend off leaving with Arlene in the car and that was the last time she was seen alive.

The Coroner said Arlene ‘lost her life on that night’ and despite a ‘very thorough investigation’ her body has never been found.

He said he is satisfied she is dead as there has been ‘no legal presence’ of the teenager since that date.

The inquest heard that Arlene would have been described as ‘home bird’ and would not have left voluntarily and that she had told a friend she would ‘have stayed for life in Castlederg.’

The inquest heard that Howard, who had a history of sexual offences especially against young girls started ‘concocting’ an alibi the day Arlene disappeared.

He began by telling several people that he returned home around 3am when in fact he did not return until at least 9am the morning of August 14.

Howard was described as ‘an unemployed drifter’ who came to Castlederg around 1991. At the time of Arlene’s disappearance he was on bail for a sexual assault on another female. Initially the police did not link Howard’s charges with their investigation and it was not until late September 1994 that he was first arrested and questioned about the disappearance.

Howard was described as ‘a master manipulator’ and the Coroner said Howard had made what he described as ‘quasi admissions’ to police as regards Arlene’s disappearance, asking on one occasion if he co-operated with police would he serve his sentence in the North.

After making his ruling, the Coroner praised Kathleen, Arlene’s sister who he said had driven the investigation on and described her as ‘remarkable.’

Speaking after the ruling Kathleen Arkinson called on Justice Minister Naomi Long to set up a public inquiry into Howard’s activities in the north and said she believes Howard was a state agent.

She said: “This was a 14-year-old inquest, nearly as long as Arlene’s life, an inquest that Howard and the state never wanted. It was opened in November 2007 and only finishes today.

“Twenty-seven years on from Arlene’s murder, I am still searching for her body. What else can I do? What else would anyone expect me to do?

“Despite what has happened, I have placed my faith in our justice system and went with it.

“Therefore I appeal to the Justice Minister to examine Arlene’s case carefully.

“When she does, she will see that the need for a public inquiry into the activities of Robert Howard in this jurisdiction, and his status as an agent for the RUC, which has led to death and misery for many people, will be unavoidable,” she claimed.

Kathleen added that she wanted now to be able to give her sister Arlene “a Christian burial”.

Des Doherty, solicitor for the family, also called for a public inquiry.