13/08/91 - Continuation of statement of Mr John Patrick Shaughnessy
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Training and aerobics. Michelle also enrolled for tap dancing lessons in the waterloo area somewhere. Which took place on a tuesday night so she gave up the weight training to do this. However she did not stick at the tap dancing for more than six weeks.

Alison was aware that michelle was doing these classes with me and used to make light hearted comments about it especially about michelle going to the weight training classes. I often tried to get alison to go along to the aerobics classes with me but she declined my invitations.

I even went as far as getting her gear along to work with me. But she phoned me and said she was too tired. I would say that as alison and michelle started to get to know each other and they seemed to be getting quite friendly. However after a while alison began to notice that michelle was always hanging around me and she began to wonder what michelle was up to.

She would say things like "we know what she's up to" and things like that. In the few months preceding the wedding. They then seemed to become good friends again and michelle was invited to our wedding by both of us and in fact she travelled over there with us in the car i had hired.

This arrangement had been agreed with alison prior to me asking michelle. With alison's agreement again. I paid for michelle's bed and breakfast accommodation while she was over for the wedding because she was going to look after the flowers and things while i was on my honeymoon.

She also had the key to our room until we got back because i remember that she had tidied up and hung up balloons and things around the room. After the wedding michelle flew back on the plane from waterford to luton on her own. I should also add that prior to our wedding on the friday 150690 a stag do was organised for me at the three stags public house which i was later told was organised and paid for by michelle.

She also did the catering at it and i remember that lisa was also there with a few of her friends. I had wanted alison to come along that night but i remember that there was a party at the bank that night. I don't know whether or not that was for alison or not. But i know they had a couple of parties for her.

I remember that although i wasn't drunk i went back to my room and alison was there and she stayed the night. On the nights that alison stayed at the clinic i believe she would tell her parents where she was staying but not that she was spending the night in my room with me.

About a year after i met alison she had gone on the pill. After our wedding we came back to london and lived at my room at the clinic. Although michelle was also living there she did not visit us that often. To begin with she would occasionally pop in to watch television as she didn't have one of her own. But this was not often and didn't last long.

Myself, Alison and michelle went out for a drink a few times together and i think that we did once go for a curry together at the imperial tandoori opposite kennington police station. I remember that alison and michelle went for a drink together on maybe two occasions but by 000990 michelle and alison did not see each other that often and their friendship began to cool off again.

After that. On the few occasions when we went out for a drink as a threesome. I noticed an atmosphere between alison and michelle and i knew they didn't like each other although nothing was really said to that effect. They didn't really have anything in common. From about 000890 until christmas 1990 my relationship with michelle resumed.

I cannot recall how this happened but we did make love very occasionally after that. This would normally take place if alison had gone to her parents in north london and she stayed the night there. This would not have been very often. As normally we would visit them at the weekends and it was only if we didn't get up there at the weekends alison would normally go up there on a monday night and stay the night.

I should add that during this time i would tell alison certain things that michelle had done or said. And she saw some cards that michelle had given me. Some of these cards she tore up and threw in the bin and although she wasn't happy about it she never said much. I used to tell her that she shouldn't pay any heed to michelle but it never caused any arguments between alison and myself. Around this time.

As well i was contemplating telling alison of my relationship with michelle so that i could get it off my chest and end it. But i always seemed to be waiting for the right time and place to do this. As far as i am aware alison had no knowledge of my relationship with michelle. If she had suspected something i would have imagined alison would have said something.

Whilst we were living at the churchill clinic myself and alison would mainly use the three stags pub which is near the clinic. We would normally go out for a drink on a wednesday then friday. Saturday and sunday. We occasionally use the ship pub in kennington road. If we were with alison's family in north london we would use the bird in hand pub or the drum and monkey which i think is on junction road archway.

From easter this year ( 1991 ) both myself and alison had an interest in american football and we have seen eight games at wembly stadium. We also went out quite a bit to concerts which were held at wembly arena and wembly stadium and also to a few small ones at the national ballroom in kilburn. We also went to the cinema quite a bit as alison read a lot of books and often wanted to see the subsequent film.

Because of work the only time that we could take holidays together were in the summer time as alison had difficulty getting time off work. We both went home to ireland. We both flew from heathrow to dublin. I left on 221290 and came back to london on 291290 whereas alison flew over on 241290 and returned to london on 010191. While we were both in ireland we both stayed with my family in roscommon.

Then when i returned to london alison stayed with anne marie walsh in piltown for the last few days. Michelle had. I should add. Gone to ireland around this time and was staying a few days with edel slattery in loughrea. Co galway. I don't know exactly when she went over there but i know she returned to london on christmas eve. I saw michelle briefly in loughrea whilst i was visiting other relatives.

Both alison and i had been aware previously that michelle was going to be in ireland at that time. Michelle had got to know edel at alison's and my wedding and they had become good friends. Alison and edel were also very good friends and kept in touch by letter. But having said this. They were both quite lazy at writing letters and didn't write that often.

They would occasionally speak on the telephone. Edel's about 18 years old and has never been out of ireland. In 000591 alison and myself were made aware that edel had been invited to london by michelle. I remember that alison was none too happy about this and was of the opinion that if edel came over she should stay with either ourselves or with her parents in north london.

I told alison that she shouldn't worry because edel's mother. Breda. Would not want her to stay with michelle. I phoned them around this time and spoke to both breda and edel and both of them said that if edel came over she would stay with myself and alison. I remember seeing somewhere a letter from edel to alison. I think where edel had written that michelle must be joking if she thought she would come over and stay with her and that she would stay with us.

I have been shown a letter which is referred to as cs/102. Which was taken from alison's bag on 030691 and i can confirm that that is definitely alison's handwriting. The letter is an unfinished one to edel and i have read it. I have been asked if i can shed any light as to what alison was referring to when writing about michelle. And the only thing i can think of is that she was annoyed about michelle wanting edel to come over and stay with her as i have described.

I believe alison received a letter about two weeks previously from edel but i do not know about the contents of that letter. I would imagine this letter is still in the flat somewhere. Having thought about this she may not have received a letter from edel but had a telephone conversation with her. I will mention now that there has never been a phone in our flat but mick casey down below us has one.

I was making enquiries with bt to try and get a phone installed. On wednesday 070891 i received a letter from edel in which she states that she had received a phone call from michelle and michelle said that everyone had seen the letter alison was writing. I have given this letter to dc gallagher and it is now referred to as ag/15. Going back now to our wedding in piltown. Co kilkenny on 230690.

After the church ceremony everyone went to the reception which was held at the ardree hotel in waterford. We had taken out a loan to help for all this from barclays bank. The loan was for £1500. Everyone had a good day and there were no incidents. I have been told that there is a rumour that a girl called natalie came to my room in the ardree hotel the night before the wedding and had pleaded with me not to marry alison.

I do know a girl called natalie who i got to know through selling concert tickets around the time i met kathy. We were never anything more than friends. She used to have a cleaning job in the bank of ireland in stokestown co roscommon where her dad was the manager and she used to phone occasionally from there but this was very occasionally. She was a pleasant chatty girl.

I met her again when both she and her boyfriend attended my stag night in garveys pub. Ballintuber and as is normal over there she got a verbal invitation to attend the wedding. On the night before the wedding she was part of a large group of us who were having a drink in the ardree hotel. She left about midnight or thereabouts as she was getting a lift back to waterford with another couple.

The rest stayed drinking until about 0300 or 0400 when i went to my room alone. No one else came into my room that night and the incident that is alleged to have happened didn't happen at all. The people from barclays bank who came over for the wedding stayed at the ardree hotel while they were over. Michelle had been booked into a bed and breakfast just outside piltown on the main waterford road but stayed at the hotel (ardree) the night before the wedding and the night of the wedding.

All her accommodation costs for michelle as i stated earlier were covered by myself and alison. The night before the wedding i should add. Michelle had been chatting to us. A group of us in the lift when we were going to our rooms and had come into my room where we had chatted. There were two single beds in the room and michelle was lying on one and me on the other.

She actually fell asleep chatting but awoke and went back to her own room. That's all that happened. She seemed to be in a happy mood and was talking about the view from the window which overlooks the docks and about the arrangements for the wedding the next day. Michelle returned to england on 250690. There were still a lot of people around the following day.

( Sunday 240690 ) and we had intended to start our honeymoon which was touring around ireland but we changed our minds and late that evening we went to alison's aunt stella's in piltown. We then spent the night in the b and b where everyone else had stayed. ( Eileens - main waterford road ). The next morning alison and myself had gone back to stella's and someone said that there had been a message on the radio for us on rte to call a certain number which was a garad station in kilkenny.

We were the only two people in stella's when the phone rang and it was alison's mum breada. She told us that that sunday evening when frank burke my first cousin. Had been driving back to roscommon with his wife linda. His daughter shauna ( 4 years ) his mother mary burke and his sister margaret burke when he had an accident and they were all taken to kilkenny hospital where frank died.

Mary burke was rushed off to dublin where she was detained for two months. Margaret had leg and head injuries. Linda had bruises and shock and shauna shock. They were also detained in hospital. Myself and alison went straight to kilkenny hospital on hearing this and we subsequently stayed for the wake and funeral and a week had gone before we decided to go ahead with the rest of the honeymoon.

We spent three nights in the hotel dunloe in killarrey and we also stayed a night in my sister breda's in loughrea co galway. We also went to ashford castle. Co mayo and spent a day or so with my folks then came back to england. Subsequent to this a lot of the hotels that we had booked for our honeymoon we phoned and they agreed when it was explained what had happened that they would keep the deposit until this year when we intended to return and finish our honeymoon.

All the tickets had been bought and we had arranged to return to ireland from 030791 until 170791. After christmas 1990 it was decided that myself and alison would move to flat 3. 41 Vardens road. Sw11. This flat consists of two bedrooms and is situated on the first and second floor of a terraced house. This flat was originally rented from thames housing authority and by my aunt mary burke.

But due to the car accident she hadn't decided whether or not she was coming back. So i contacted the thames housing association and everyone agreed that alison and myself could take over the tenancy in mary burke's absence. The house has 3 flats; one in the basement is occupied by christine wright an elderly woman. The first floor flat is occupied by mick casey and as stated. Myself and alison occupied flat three.

From the street the communal front door is accessed by a flight of stairs. This door has two locks. A yale type lock and underneath this a mortice type lock. This door gives access to a small hallway. To the left is a large cupboard containing the meters and next to that is the door to mick casey's flat. Straight in front of you is the door to our flat. This door gives access to a flight of stairs.

At the top of which is a small landing which has a window overlooking the rear of the house and to the left is a small toilet which also has a wash hand basin. There is then another small flight of stairs coming back on yourself leading to a smail landing. In front of you is the living room. To the left of this a cupboard. And to the right the door into the kitchen.

There is then another flight of stairs coming back on yourself which has another small landing which again has a window overlooking the rear of the house. And then another flight of stairs again coming back on yourself which leads to the bedroom straight in front a built in cupboard to the left and two doors to the right. The first of which is the second bedroom and the second door is to the toilet and bathroom.

Since moving in after the snow. Which i believe was february i have met christine wright once and mick casey only about 4 or 5 times. When we moved in brian mcmurray. Susan's boyfriend had a van and michelle taylor helped us move. Brian took all the heavy stuff and over about 2 weeks michelle brought round the rest in her car. I should also mention that when we moved into our flat.

The flat door ( as opposed to the communal door ) was hanging askew and wasn't closing properly so i made enquiries with who locally could fix the door and he told me about a next door neighbour called mick ward. Mick casey contacted mick ward for me and that evening mick ward fixed the flat door which is secured with a yale lock.

As far as i am aware all the occupants of the house had keys to the front communal door. Certainly mick casey had as did myself and alison. Only myself and alison had keys for our flat. I also got one of the maintenance workers from the clinic called john fornan to plumb in the washing machine. We did not have a house warming party nor any party at all since moving in.

Apart from family and those people already mentioned i can't think of any one else who has been in our flat. I have been asked whether any other members of the taylor family have been to my flat and the answer is definitely not. I have been asked specifically if lisa taylor has ever been in my flat and once again i say definitely not. Since moving in we have one pint of milk delivered each day and all post is put in through the front door into the hallway floor.

If the post is delivered before we leave for work in the morning then we would pick it up on our way out to work and take it with us. Either reading it on the train or at work. If the post had not arrived before we left then it would stay in the hall until the evening. Mick casey would usually put it to the right hand side of the hall for us. The only other deliveries would be the free local newspapers.

This statement is temporarily concluded.
It began at 0905 at kennington police station and concluded at 2030.
To be continued 140891.

( Signed ) andrew gallagher dc
( signed ) john shaughnessy

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