About this episode

Lauren Bradford-Clarke reveals the shocking truth about her family's past, including her father's confession to murder.

Lauren Bradford-Clarke grew up believing her mother Lesley had taken her own life before finding out the truth – her father was a murderer. She was told her mum Lesley took her own life, eventually being told it was part of a ‘suicide’ pact with a man, Trevor Buchanan – the husband of the woman who would eventually become her stepmother. That woman was Hazel Stewart, how had been having an affair with Lauren’s father, Colin Howell. Ten 18-years after the deaths, Colin Howell walked into a police station and confessed to murdering them, implicating Steward as his partner in crime. Dr Lauren Bradford-Clarke, now a criminologist, spoke with the Belfast Telegraph’s Claire Williamson.  This episode of The BelTel originally aired in February 2026.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Guest: Lauren Bradford-Clarke

Topics covered

• murder
• family secrets
• true crime
• mental health
• confession

Keywords

• Colin Howell
• murder
• suicide pact
• family secrets
• criminology

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